Now & Forever
by ahiru2524
Summary: What happens when Arnold and Helga are forced to work together on a school project that brings up childhood memories? This story takes place six years after the Jungle Movie. Rated T for some language (They are in high school after all).
1. Chapter 1

**Yes, I'm back again! And here is my newest fanfiction! I am SO thankful for the response I got on my last one, and I only hope you guys like this one just as much. Ok, so this story takes place six years after the Jungle Movie, so the Hey Arnold gang is sixteen (I had some problems with math, so I apologize if there are any mix ups. I've tried to fix them, and will continue to do so). Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Hey Arnold is not mine.**

Chapter 1

It was a cold, grey, rainy day as Arnold Shortman walked to Hillwood High School. It had been six years since he and his fifth grade class had gone to San Lorenzo to find his parents, which they had, and now Arnold was sixteen and determined to make his sophomore year great.

A lot had changed in six years, but some things were still the same; Arnold still wore a red plaid shirt, but now he wore it over a teal t-shirt, and his little blue hat was still ever-present on his football-shaped head.

On a nearby street, Helga Pataki was also battling the elements on her walk to school. As they often did, memories from San Lorenzo were whirling through her head as she tried to sort things out; Arnold had confessed that he loved her back while they were in San Lorenzo, but once they were back in Hillwood she had avoided him for weeks. Partly it was because she didn't want to intrude on his time with his parents, but partly it was also that she wasn't really sure how to handle Arnold supposedly loving her back. And as more time passed, neither spoke about the subject again. And so, in short, Helga kept tormenting Arnold on a daily basis, and Arnold kept trying to ignore it.

Just as many things had changed over the years for Arnold, so had they for Helga. She still wore her bow, but she hid it under a grey hat; now it was more like a secret memento that was just for her. She had switched her dress for a pink tank style tunic with an orange band around the bottom and Jeans. She had also kept the pigtails, just worn lower. And forever in a hidden pocket was the gold locket she had kept a picture of Arnold in for years.

As both approached the school, Helga again felt a pang in her heart at the sight of Arnold. She really wished she knew how he felt about her, but at the same time she was still afraid that he would reject her. That fear was what kept her from asking him the question she desperately needed an answer to: What do we do now?

_'It's probably just as well,'_ she thought glumly as she opened her locker and pulled out the books she needed, _'He probably wants nothing to do with me anyway...'_

_'She probably doesn't even remember,'_ Arnold thought as he stuffed his History book in his bag. He had thought about Helga almost every day, but after she had avoided him for a month after San Lorenzo, he assumed she didn't like him like that anymore and just wanted them to be friends. But then her teasing had continued over the years, so Arnold was left very confused.

The bell rang, and everyone headed to their first class with mixed levels of enthusiasm. Arnold's first class was History, as was Helga's.

"Alright everyone," the teacher said once everyone was seated, "I'm handing back your homework from Friday, but I want you to wait to look at them until after I explain your next project.

"In teams of two, you're going to create an oral report and visual presentation. Both partners must be active in both pieces of the project. In research, development, and presentation. And before you start partnering up with your best friend, I have already chosen your partner. There will be no switching partners, so don't even think about it."

Groans came from around the classroom, but the teacher ignored them and picked up the list.

"Okay, the partners are Rhonda and Thaddeus," Rhonda groaned again while Curly smiled, "Phoebe and Gerald," both students smiled shyly at each other, "Arnold and Helga, Sydney and Mandy..."

Helga had stopped listening by now. She and Arnold?! This was either a Heaven sent gift, or a curse from Hell. _'What am I going to do? We both have to be part of every step of the process, which means we're going to have to spend time together, which leaves so much time for talking, and what if he wants to talk about San Lorenzo? What if __I_ _can't keep my trap shut and I try to talk about San Lorenzo? And if we do talk about it, what if he says it was a "heat of the moment" thing, like we agreed FTI was? Or what if he says it wasn't? I mean, we were in that pit, and it was raining, and we thought we were going to die. He could have just said it without really thinking it through. Then again, Arnold's not one to make decisions without thinking, especially when they affect other people. Oh criminy, I'm starting to sound like a basket case again!'_

While Helga had been lost in her thoughts, the teacher had told everyone to partner up so they could go to the library and start work. Arnold had gathered his things and gone to Helga's table, only to find her spaced out.

"Um, Helga?"

"Huh? What? Oh, what do you want, Football Head?"

"We need to go to the library to start our project."

"Yeah, I know. I'm just taking my good sweet time! Sheesh!"

"Whatever you say, Helga," Arnold sighed and adjusted his bag. Once he was gone, Helga picked up her notebook and smacked her head with it a few times.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid! Why did I do that? I couldn't just be civil and thank him for his concern? No. I had to go and be a jerk! Why do I always do this? Okay, I'm going to got to the library, and the first thing I'm going to do is apologize. Oh great, I'm talking to myself! Sure, Helga, let everyone else know you're crazy!" she stuffed her books in her bag and joined her classmates in the library.

"I'm sorry for snapping at you, Arnold," Helga said, sitting down in the chair across from him, "I'm just having a bad day, and I was a bit lost in thought, and you surprised me. But that's no excuse for me acting like a jerk to you, so I'm sorry."

"That's okay, Helga. Apology accepted. So, what should we do our project on? We have to pick a building from the city to research the history of."

"Well we should pick something that had an impact on our lives, that way we won't get bored reading about it," Helga suggested.

"Good idea. So, what are some places that have been important to our past?"

"Well, there's P.S. 118, the Circle Theater, Quigley Stadium," Helga began.

"What about FTI?" Arnold asked, trying to sound casual.

"What?" Helga looked at him blankly. Was he trying to be obvious? He had to go and suggest the most important building in her life? Clearly he knew it's significance, too, because even six years later, Arnold still couldn't lie for beans.

"Um, well, uh, if you want to use that then it's fine with me," Helga said. _'Please don't let this end up being really awkward!' _she thought desperately.

"Sounds good to me. I think the FTI building is older than the others anyway. I'll go try and find some books on it, why don't you check the internet?"

"Sure, okay," Helga said, getting up to go log into a computer. _'Great, pick the building with the most awkward personal history ever! Great!'_ she thought, scrolling through web pages, _'This is going to suck!'_

§

By the time the bell rang, Helga had managed to find plenty of information to start with, and avoided talking to Arnold as much as possible. She packed up her things and practically ran out of the library. Unfortunately, Arnold was just as fast as she was, and he easily caught up to her in the hallway.

"So I was thinking we should get together at the library after school, if you're free," Arnold said.

"Um, yeah, okay. What time?"

"Well, school gets out at 2:45, so maybe around 3:30?" he suggested.

"Yeah, sure, that's fine." Helga mumbled. As fast as she could, she slipped away from Arnold and got lost in the crowd. _'That girl really is something, isn't she?' _Arnold thought as he made his way to his next class, _'I just wish I could get her to calm down and talk to me. I've waited for six years, and I really think we just need to talk this out. But she's always been so shy when it comes to talking about stuff like that, and I don't want to push her to talk about it if she really doesn't want to. Then again, maybe a push is what she needs.'_

**Sorry****it's****so short, but these chapters are likely to be shorter than SLGO. I hope you still enjoy it :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello again! I can't believe how many reviews I've already gotten! Thanks so much everyone! Please enjoy chapter two!**

Chapter 2

_'I can't believe I agreed to this. I can't believe I agreed to this!'_ Helga thought as she walked to the library. It had stopped raining for the moment, but it was still a little cold, and all Helga really wanted to do was go home and do absolutely nothing. Well, actually she'd rather be just about anywhere but the library, which she had just arrived at.

'_Alright, you can do this, Helga. It's just homework. Maybe he won't even mention the FTI confession. Maybe you can just bury it in the farthest depths of your mind and pretend you didn't totally humiliate yourself that morning. Or maybe everything is about to go up in flames. Crap.'_ Bracing herself, Helga pulled open the large wooden door and stepped inside.

She spotted Arnold at a table in the back and walked over to join him.

"So, what do we do first, Football Head?" she asked, trying to sound upbeat.

"Hi, Helga. Um, well, we've got quite a bit of information, so we just need to fill in a few gaps there, but we need to decide on our visual presentation. I was thinking something like a model of the building, or maybe a timeline of photos starting when it was built."

"Yawn. Arnold, everybody does stuff like that. We need something big! Something new! Something different!"

"Such as?"

"Uh..." Helga hadn't thought that far ahead, but she couldn't tell Arnold that, "Um...like a...like a video tour of FTI! Y'know, film a whole bunch of stuff, then we can present our essay while it plays."

"Wow, that a neat idea! It sounds great!" Arnold said enthusiastically, "I'll call Future Tech when I get home and ask if they'll let us film a tour."

"Alright. In the meantime, I'm going to go try and find some more information about the history of the place. We have some pretty big gaps in some places."

"Sounds good. I'll start writing an outline." They worked for an hour, then headed home for dinner.

All the way home, all Helga could think about was Arnold, FTI, and how this whole thing might play out.

§

"Helga! Hey Helga!" Arnold hurried down the hallway in an attempt to catch up with Helga, but if anything she seemed to quicken her pace.

"Helga!," Arnold repeated, finally catching up to her, "I called FTI, and they said it was fine if we did a video tour! We can come in on Wednesday after school."

"That's fine," Helga said before disappearing into the crowd. 'What's with her?' Arnold thought as he stared in the direction she had gone, _'She's been avoiding me like the plague since we got the assignment in history. I wonder if the two are connected in any way?'_

_'Wow Helga, way to give him the third degree!'_ Helga mentally smacked herself; why did she keep doing this? _'Okay, on Wednesday when we go to FTI I'm going to act like a civil human being! I will not act like some weirdo who suddenly doesn't want to even be on the same planet as him! Honestly, you'd think this would be simple enough!'_

Helga barely paid attention to the rest of her classes, her mind occupied with plans for making Wednesday perfect.

§

Wednesday at 2:45 when the bell rang, Helga nearly jumped out of her seat. She was supposed to meet Arnold by the front door so they could go to FTI, but she was seriously considering ditching him and just going home.

"Helga? Are you okay?" a familiar voice chirped behind Helga's shoulder.

"Of course I'm okay! Why wouldn't I-oh, hi Phoebe. Sorry for freaking on you there, I'm just stressed."

"Isn't today the day you and Arnold are going to Future Tech Industries to work on your project?" Phoebe asked.

"Yeah, today's the day. Assuming I can actually make myself go."

"Helga, everything will be fine, I'm sure. Besides, if Arnold does bring up...certain events which you'd rather not discuss, you're strong enough to deal with the situation accordingly."

"Maybe you're right, Phoebe," Helga sighed, "Alright, well I guess I'd better go meet up with Hair Boy. See you later, Phoebe! Oh, and Phoebe?"

"Yes, Helga?"

"Thanks for always having my back."

"Of course, Helga."

Helga walk down the hallway feeling confident that she could handle anything that the FTI trip threw at her. But the moment she saw Arnold standing by the door waiting for her, all confidence drained out of her. _'I can't do this. I just can't! I don't care what Phoebe says, there is no way I can handle this, especially if he brings up what happened when we were nine!'_

Helga adjusted her backpack and ducked out a side door when no one was looking. Once outside, she broke into a run and didn't stop until she was at her front porch.

"I'm such a coward. I should have just sucked it up and gone, but instead I ran away like a child. I'm such a moron! Now he's going to ask why I didn't show up, and I'm going to have to give him some lame answer. Damn." Helga opened the door and stalked inside, hoping that some time alone would make her feel better. However, when she got inside the house she found everything in a state of chaos.

"Miriam, where's my lucky belt?"

"What lucky belt, B?"

"_My_ lucky belt, Miriam! I can't take a Beeper Emporium picture without my lucky belt!"

"Uh-huh, that's nice, B..."

"Miriam! Hey, Olga, have you seen my belt?" Bob said, finally noticing the Helga was standing in the doorway.

"It's _Helga_, _Bob_. And no, I have no idea where your belt is," she turned and climbed the stairs to her room as fast as possible. But not fast enough.

"Where do you think you're going? We're taking a new promo picture for the Beeper Emporium, and we need the whole family in the picture."

"Olga's not even here!"

"Well of course not! She still teaching in Alaska! She sent us a picture, and they're going to use some fancy technology to add her in later. Now get down here and take the picture like I told you!"

"And if I refuse?" Helga had long ago stopped putting up with Bob, and she often challenged his orders.

"Then...then...look, don't sass me, girl! Get down here now!"

Helga didn't feel like wasting any more breath on Bob, so she walked over to where her mother was sitting slumped on a stool. The photographer told her where to stand, then Bob joined them after finding his belt.

"Okay, and smile!" the photographer said in an overly happy voice. He snapped a few shots, but Helga wasn't smiling in any of them.

"Come on, little lady, give me a big smile, okay?" he asked Helga.

"Look," Helga said evenly, "First of all, I'm sixteen, not six, so cut the "little lady" smiley crap, okay? Second, I don't do smiles."

"Aw, but your dad want to take a nice picture! Don't you want to take a nice picture with your family?"

Helga looked at him blankly.

"No. And I'm not six."

Once again the photographer ignored her, and continued trying to get her to smile. Finally, when he offered her twenty dollars for a smile, she gave him a small almost-smile. But it wasn't a scowl, so no one said anything.

As soon as they were done, Helga ran up to her room and locked the door. She flopped down on her bed and decided she was going to lay there until she felt better.

At some point while laying there, Helga fell asleep. When she woke up her clock said 6:00pm, and her phone screen glowed, alerting her to a text message.

_'Probably Phoebe asking how things with Arnold went'_ Helga thought as she scrolled through to her new messages.

**Unknown number:**

**Is everything ok, Helga?**

**-Arnold**

"Arnold texted me?" Helga asked aloud. Then what he had actually said sunk in; he wasn't mad that she had ditched him, but he was worried that something was wrong. '_He really cared enough to text me? Wow. Well, I guess I'd better tell him something.'_

**Yeah, everything's fine, I just wasn't feeling well.**

_'Not a lie'_ Helga thought. The idea of them spending all that time alone together at FTI had made her feel sick with nerves. Just before she sent the message she added a line.

**Sorry I stood you up, Football Head.**

She sent the message, then almost instantly got one back.

**Sorry to hear you're not feeling well. **

**Don't worry about FTI, we can reschedule. **

**I hope you feel better soon.**

**-Arnold**

Helga smiled as she reread the message. _'He's so nice' _she thought '_And he actually managed to make me smile.'_

**Thanks, Hair Boy. For everything.**

Helga finished tapping out the message and sent it off, then turned off her phone and plugged it in.

"Alright, let's go see what I can find in the empty black hole we call a kitchen" Helga grumbled.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey everyone, I'm back with chapter three! I'm so glad you guys are enjoying it!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Hey Arnold.**

Chapter 3

The next day as she walked to school, Helga prayed that somehow, some way, she would be able to survive the impending FTI trip that Arnold had no doubt already rescheduled.

"Hi, Helga," he greeted her, falling in step beside her, "Are you feeling better?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm feeling much better. Must've just eaten something that didn't agree with me. Like the school lunch; y'know, I always wondered if that stuff was safe to eat. I mean really! Isn't food supposed to have color?" Helga was rambling, and she knew it. It worked, though.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. It doesn't really look like food when everything has that weird grey tint." Helga sighed in relief; it seemed she was clear of the FTI subject for now.

"Oh, Helga, I almost forgot to tell you. I called FTI yesterday, and they said we can come over either today or tomorrow after school. Does one of those work for you?" _'Well I thought I was in the clear. Great, what am I going to do?'_ Helga thought in a panic.

"Um, tomorrow's fine," she heard herself say. _'Great, now I can't get out of it because I suggested it! Just perfect.'_

"Alright, that's fine with me. Well, I've got to get to class, but I'll see you tomorrow. Have a nice day!" Arnold smiled and waved.

"Yeah, you too," Helga mumbled. She tore a piece of paper from her notebook and scribbled a quick note to Phoebe:

Phoebe, I need your help ASAP! It's an emergency! Please, it's vital to my survival (well, maybe not...). It's about "Ice Cream".

-Helga

P.S.

This note never existed, okay?

Helga poked the note through the slots in Phoebe's locker before racing off to class.

§

At lunch Helga mostly played with her food until Phoebe sat down with her.

"Konichiwa, Helga. I received your message; how can I help?"

"Phoebe, you remember yesterday I was supposed to go with Arnold to work on our project?"

"Yes."

"Well I chickened out. I snuck out the back and ran home. But now we're going tomorrow and I don't know what to do!"

"Oh Helga, don't worry so much. I'm sure everything will be fine. Besides, it's perfectly normal to be nervous about spending time alone with someone you-"

"Phoebe, shhh! We're in school!" Helga whispered quickly.

"I'm sorry, Helga, I wasn't thinking," Phoebe apologized.

"Eh, it's alright. No harm no foul, right? Anyway, you were saying? Oh right, perfectly natural to be nervous. Well, you know all about that, don't you Pheebs? How are things with Tall Hair Boy?"

"Helga!" Phoebe blushed brightly, "I...we...Helga, that's not what we were discussing!"

"I know. I'm sorry, Pheebs, it's just so much fun to watch you get all flustered whenever Gerald comes up. When are you two ever just going to go out already?"

"I don't know, he hasn't asked me."

"Phoebe, you can't just wait around for him! Hey, how about this? Homecoming's in a few weeks, why don't you ask him?"

"Oh I couldn't!" Phoebe exclaimed.

"Why not?"

"I wouldn't know what to say! Besides, what if he said no?"

"Phoebe," Helga began, "I know I should just take my own advice, but just ask him! You can do it! Besides, it's obvious he likes you."

"It is? He does?!"

"Yes, Phoebe, he does. It's not hard to tell! He talks to you whenever he can, he tries to sit with you all the time, and didn't he give you that hand painted Japanese fan for no reason a while ago?"

"Well, not really for no reason," Phoebe said, "I was doing that history paper on art in Japan, and he saw it while he was out and thought I could use it for reference for my paper."

"Phoebe, that's the lamest excuse I've ever heard! He could have just told you where he saw it so you could buy it, or have taken a picture or something! He used your paper as a cover for giving you a present for no reason!"

"You really think so?"

"Yes, I do."

"Alright, maybe I will ask him."

"Good. And I'll try to calm down about tomorrow. Thanks Phoebe."

"Anytime, Helga."

The two cleared their table at the sound of the bell, and finished out the rest of their classes. Helga went home to plan and prepare for the next day, and Phoebe found Gerald after class and asked to talk to him. He ended up walking her home, and giving her a very happy "yes" to her invitation to the dance.


	4. Chapter 4

**Woo! Two chapters in one day! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Hey Arnold, we would have the Jungle Movie already.**

Chapter 4

Friday. The day they were going to FTI. Helga woke up and immediately wished she could stay home. _'Why me?'_ she thought as she dragged herself out of bed at got dressed. Although she didn't normally bother with makeup or jewelry, Helga decided to try something a little different today. She put on a little perfume, and a small necklace with a star pendant. _'Not too bad, if I do say so!'_ she chuckled, looking in her mirror. She grabbed her backpack and went down to the kitchen.

As usual, the refrigerator was empty, and all that was in the cupboards was a half of a bag of chips. _'Well, it's better than nothing' _she thought. She grabbed the chips and started walking to school; today was not starting out well.

§

Helga sat in English, her last class of the day, staring at the clock. Normally she loved English, but today she was too wound up to concentrate.

Absently, she doodled in the margin of her notebook; two minutes to the bell. The teacher handed out the homework and Helga put it in her binder and wrote down the due date. One minute to the bell.

The teacher was explaining some last-minute information about the homework, but Helga wasn't listening. _'34, 33, 32, 31...'_ she thought, counting the seconds, _'19, 18, 17, 16...criminy, I'm going to drive myself mad!'_

The bell rang and she grabbed her bag and jumped up. Okay, this was it: she was going to go to FTI with Arnold. Alone. Together. For two hours. _'Oh dear Lord, I must be out of my mind'_ she thought as she made her way through the crowded hallway.

Finally the front entrance came into view, and there was Arnold, waiting for her.

"Hey there, Football Head, you ready?" she asked when she got to him.

"Ready when you are, Helga," he replied. And with that, they went off on a trip to the one building Helga had never wanted to see again.

§

They arrived at FTI in record time, giving them the full two hours they had planned. Arnold checked them in at the front desk and got their visitor passes, then pulled out his video camera. He filmed a bit of the lobby, then they got on the elevator.

Room after room they got interesting footage, from conference rooms to offices. They even were granted access the the main office with all of the files in it, where Arnold and Gerald had faced off with Scheck seven years ago.

Arnold finished filming the file drawers and shut off the camera.

"Sure brings back a lot of memories, huh Helga?"

"Y-yeah, we had a pretty crazy childhood, especially on that day. Well, we'd better keep going if we want to get everything filmed today," Helga said quickly.

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

They left that room and filmed a few more, making notes in Helga's notebook about which rooms were added when, and purposes they had served.

Finally they got on the elevator to leave when Arnold noticed on last button above where they were.

"Hey, let's get some footage of up here," he said, pushing the button. Helga froze; they were going to the one part of this building she had prayed they could stay away from. The place that had haunted her dreams for years after they saved the neighborhood. They were going to the roof.


	5. Chapter 5

**Trick or treat! :) Happy Halloween! Here's your treat: one of two new chapters! I've kept you all in suspense long enough, so here's the chapter you've been waiting for: THE ROOFTOP!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Hey Arnold.**

Chapter 5

The elevator doors opened and Arnold and Helga stepped onto the rooftop. Nothing had changed, and looking around they both felt nine years old again.

Arnold turned on the camera and filmed the view for a moment, then closed the camera and put it away.

"Wow, and I thought the office brought back memories" he said.

"Yeah, um, that was a really crazy few days, what with Scheck, and the block party, and you trying to get the document..."

"And you and I up here," Arnold added.

"Uh, yeah, hehe. I did some crazy stuff as a kid." Helga turned to look out over the city and away from Arnold.

"Yeah, that was a pretty eventful morning. I remember how surprised I was to find out you were "Deep Voice"."

"Arnold...I thought we said we were just going to forget about all the crazy things I did that day."

"I know that's what we said-" Arnold began.

"Then can we please stop talking about it?" Helga cut him off, "I really don't want to relive that day."

"Helga-"

"Arnold, can we please just _drop it_? I've tried to put that night out of my mind for six years, and even though it hasn't worked that well I still don't need you bringing up buried memories! I was young and stupid! Let it go!" Helga turned to stalked back to the elevator, but Arnold's next words stopped her.

"Was it stupid when you said you loved me?" Helga stopped walking, but she didn't turn around.

"What?"

Arnold walked over to her and stood in front of her.

"The only stupid thing either of us did that morning was me, when I said we could just pretend it didn't happen. Helga, I haven't stopped thinking about that night since it happened, and the more I think about it the more I wish I had done things differently."

"What do you mean?"

"If I could change anything about that night, I would've told you right there what I'm going to tell you now. I know I might be too late, but this is what I should have said seven years ago when we were last on this roof," Arnold took a deep breath, then took both of Helga's hands in his own, "I love you too, Helga. I always have, but at nine I was too young to know what love was; I was confused. But I'm not confused anymore. You've been there for me through everything, even when we went all the way to San Lorenzo. That was probably the most dangerous thing any of us ever did, but you didn't hesitate to help me find my parents. Helga, without you I might not have found my parents. You risked everything to help me, and you never thought of yourself; all I can say is thank you. I know it took me fourteen years to return your love, and I'm sorry. More sorry than I've ever been. All I can ask is...am I too late?"

"Arnold...this...this doesn't make any sense. You...how can you say you love me? I've been a horrible person to you since we were three!"

"Helga, you were just trying to protect your feelings. I understand that now. Okay, so maybe we've had some bad times; think of all the good times we've had! Romeo and Juliet, the beach, April Fool's Day, San Lorenzo, even today."

"This isn't happening. I must be dreaming, and if I am then that just means I'm going to wake up, so I might as well say it: Arnold, _of course_ I still love you! I never _stopped_ loving you! I've loved you every day of my life since I met you! But this is a dream, so it doesn't matter. I'm just going to wake up and be sad again." She pulled her hands from Arnold's and started walking towards the elevator. But Arnold stopped her again; he ran after her, took her hand and pulled her in, and kissed her.

Helga's head nearly exploded. Dream Arnold's kisses were never like this! But this couldn't be real, could it?

Arnold released her, but he kept her hands in his.

"Believe me now?" he asked with a small smile.

"I...I...how...what..." Helga couldn't speak, so she settled for a small nod. "You...you didn't let me leave...like last time..."

"Helga, I spent years chasing after girls who were all wrong for me; I wasn't about to let the right one walk away from me without at least proving to her that I really do love her."

"Arnold...how can you be sure you love me? What if it's just a crush? If that were to happen..."

"Helga, I've never felt like this about anyone before. I can't really explain it, but...please just believe me. If you need proof then I'll do anything, but please, believe me. I've never lied to you before, have I?"

"No," Helga admitted with a grin, "besides, I'd know if you were lying anyway; you suck at lying!"

"Yeah, I do. Oh well, I guess that's just me being a "do-gooder little shrimp", huh?" Arnold chuckled.

"Yeah, well—wait, _what_?"

"Well, I kind of heard you call me that a few times when we were kids."

"But I only called you that in...my...Arnold, did you hear any of the monologues I used to randomly launch into?"

"Like when you'd hide behind a tree or a trash can or something? Yeah, I, um, I heard a few of them."

"And you never said anything?!"

"Well, before you told me you loved me I figured you would tell me if and when you were ready, not to mentioned I was kind of shocked when I heard you, and after you told me you loved me...well first we said we were going to pretend it didn't happen, and then we went to San Lorenzo, and I don't know. I guess life just got in the way."

"Yeah, speaking of life getting in the way...sorry I kind of starting avoiding you after San Lorenzo."

"Yeah, why did you? I missed you."

"I wanted to come visit, but first I was too scared because of all the stuff we said and did in that pit trap we got stuck in, and then I didn't want to invade on your family bonding time getting to know your parents, and them you, and then before I knew it I hadn't talked to you in two months, and I wasn't sure what to say."

"Helga, you're welcome at the boarding house whenever you want. My grandparents miss you, and my parents still want to thank you for your help."

"Oh that's not necessary. What else was I supposed to do? Just not help you?"

"Still. Hey, Helga? Do you have plans tonight?"

"No."

"Would you like to come over for dinner?"

Helga threw her arms around Arnold and hugged him. They stayed like that for several minutes until Arnold realized they should leave so the business could close. But before Helga could even unwrap her arms from around his neck he had picked up both their bags and her.

"Arnold, you don't have to carry me! I can walk!" Helga protested.

"I know that. I want to carry you. Unless you _want_ to walk..."

"No no no, I'm fine," Helga said quickly, "I just didn't want you to wear out those shrimpy Football Head arms of yours. Although now that I think about it, you're not so shrimpy anymore. First of all, you're finally taller than me; congratulations! Second...Arnold, do you work out?" Helga blushed a bright shade of pink.

"Um, I, um, no, just helping my grandpa and my dad with repairing the boarding house and stuff." Arnold was blushing now, too.

"Oh, well, uh, it, um...you know what? I'm just not going to say anything more before I say something really stupid and embarrassing," Helga decided. Arnold smiled and kissed her forehead,

"Whatever you say, Helga."

"Wow, you haven't said that in a while!" Helga joked, referring to how often he said it as a kid.

"Well maybe I'm just trying to bring back some more memories."

"That's fine with me; I love a good trip down memory lane!"

"Me too, Helga, me too."


	6. Chapter 6

**Here's the second part of your treat! Enjoy!**

Chapter 6

When they got to the boarding house Arnold noticed Helga fidgeting with the hem of her shirt. He gently placed a hand on hers,

"Calm down, Helga."

"Arnold, I haven't seen them in forever. What if—"

"Helga, don't worry so much," Arnold said. He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze, then opened the door.

"Don't let go, okay?" she whispered.

"Never," Arnold whispered back. He led her to the kitchen where everyone was sitting and enjoying some coffee.

"Hi everyone! I'm back, and I brought a friend with me..." he led Helga into view. She blushed a little and waved,

"Hi, everyone."

"Helga!" Everyone exclaimed happily. Instantly she was surrounded with greetings and hugs and questions about how she was doing. And right in the middle of it was Arnold who, true to his promise, never let go of her hand.

"Wow, thanks everyone. I think that's the most enthusiastic greeting I've had!"

"Well we've missed ya!" Phil chuckled, "Although not as much as Short Man here."

"Grandpa!" Arnold said, turning a bit red.

"Oh Arnold, your grandpa's just teasing you. Growing up with me you ought to be used to it!" Helga laughed.

The borders were just as happy to see her. All the same borders still lived at Sunset Arms, and they were as much family as Phil, Gertie, Miles, and Stella. They all sat and talked for a while, and they talked all through dinner. By the time dessert was finished they had pretty much caught up all six years since San Lorenzo.

Arnold led Helga up to his room so they could spend some time alone, although Arnold had to listen to a bit more teasing from his father, grandpa, and the borders, thought Suzie tried to scold them all.

"You're family is so nice, Arnold," Helga said as they climbed the stairs to his room.

"Yeah, they're a little crazy sometimes, but they are pretty great."

He and Helga sat on his couch, and Helga marveled at his room. It hadn't changed at all since the many times she had secretly seen it, save for some new music choices next to the sound system and a new computer on his desk.

"So what about your family, Helga?" Arnold asked.

"What about my family?"

"Are things any better than they used to be?"

"Not really. Bob still doesn't know my name, and only remembers my existence if he needs my help, Olga's still little miss Mary Sunshine, and Miriam is still an alcoholic. You know, I'm surprised I didn't know that was her problem sooner; it was pretty obvious."

"That's too bad, Helga. If you ever need anything you know you can come here, right?"

"Yeah. Thanks, Arnold."

"Anytime, Helga."

They sat there for a while before Arnold broke the silence.

"So, Helga, um, I was wondering...would you...would like to go to Homecoming with me?"

"Arnold, you just told me a few hours ago that you loved me, and we had a whole big, movie perfect feelings confession, and you're really asking of I'll go to Homecoming with you? Couldn't you guess my answer?"

"I know, I just wanted to ask anyway," Arnold smiled.

"Well then yes. Yes, Arnold, I would love to go to Homecoming with you!" Helga hugged him again, this time less desperately than on the roof.

After some time she leaned back to look at him. Arnold could see in her eyes she wanted to ask a question, but she seemed to be trying to decide how to say it.

"Helga, is there something on your mind?"

"Arnold, there's something I want to ask you, but I feel kind of stupid saying it, and I don't really know _how_ to say it anyway."

"Just ask me, Helga. You can ask me anything."

"Okay," she took a deep breath, then seemed to consider her words, "Are you...no, I mean am I...no...are we...are we...y'know...dating? Oh God, I sound like such a moron, please forget I said that!" Helga dropped her head in her hands.

"Helga, please look at me," She looked up slowly, "I...I don't really know how to answer your question. Are we dating?"

"I don't know, that why I asked _you_!" Helga exclaimed.

"Right. Um...well...hold on, I want to do this right..." Arnold took Helga's hand and led her up to the roof.

They walked over to the edge of the roof so that the lights of the city were behind them. Arnold turned to Helga and looked into her eyes.

"Helga Pataki, will you be my girlfriend?"

"Oh Arnold! Of course! I've loved you since we were three and you expect me to say no? Come here!" Helga pulled Arnold into a hug which he gladly returned.

"Wow," Helga said when she released him, "I never thought this would actually happen! Arnold, are you really sure this isn't a dream?"

"I'm sure, Helga. This is real."

"Wow. So this is really happening. Like, really really happening!" Helga almost seem to be nine years old again to Arnold as he watched her smile grew wider and wider the more she marveled at this new turn of events. But suddenly the joy in her eyes dimmed a little, and she looked at Arnold with a worried expression.

"What's wrong, Helga?" Arnold asked.

"Arnold, this is the most amazing day of my life, but...I've spent fourteen years hiding my feelings for you from the world; what's going to happen when we walk into school on Monday?"

"I'm sure everything will be fine. After all, we're not in elementary school anymore."

"Exactly, Arnoldo, we're in high school. If I thought things would be bad in elementary school, I never dreamed about high school! Arnold, they'll slaughter me!"

"Helga, I think you're exaggerating just a little."

"Oh am I? Do you remember when Sid freaked out in that science class because they were going to dissect frogs?"

"Yeah, I remember. The poor guy ended up crying hysterically and running through the hallway with the frog box," Arnold said.

"Mmhm. He had to skip that class for a week while they did that unit and write an essay about frogs instead. And no one let him forget it for a month and a half! Imagine what would happen to us! They've been trying to get something on me since preschool, and now they finally have it. Plus they've all got more friends now that we're in high school, which means they have reinforcements!" Helga was almost shouting now.

"Helga, calm down," Arnold hugged her again, "Don't be so nervous; everything will be fine." Helga hugged him tighter, trying not to cry.

"But Arnold...I'm scared."

"It's okay. We'll walk into school together, and I'll help you get through the day. I'll stay with you as much as I can."

"You would really do that, Arnold?"

"Of course, Helga. I promise."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7 has arrived! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Same old same.**

Chapter 7

Monday morning Helga woke up and was instantly filled with a mix a joy and terror. '_Okay, so today I'm going to walk to school with Arnold, and then we're going to go through a whole school day where I don't have to pretend I hate Arnold. Criminy, I can't decide if today is going to be absolutely wonderful or a living hell. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to take it as it comes. At least I've got Arnold to help me'._

Helga got out of bed and got dressed, again deciding to wear some perfume, but no jewelry. Down in the kitchen there was no food, so she grabbed a few dollars to get something from the vending machine at school. _'A candy bar and chips for breakfast. Just how I wanted to start my day'_ she thought in annoyance. Just as she was stuffing the money in her pocket she heard the doorbell ring. _'Arnold!'_

Helga ran to the door and pulled it open as fast as she could. There was Arnold, smiling at her rush to open the door. He leaned in to hug her, but she twisted at the last minute to kiss him.

"No good morning kiss for your girlfriend? Arnold, really!" she scolded playfully.

"Sorry Helga, but I wasn't sure if you would be comfortable with that since your road is pretty well traveled."

"Eh, no one's around right now, and anyway, if we're got to tell the whole school about this we might as well tell the world, huh?"

"Whatever you say, Helga."

§

Everything was fine until Arnold and Helga got to the school grounds.

"Arnold..." Helga said quietly, squeezing his hand, which she'd been holding the whole way there.

"It's okay, Helga. Everything's okay. I'm here."

"Right. Okay, um, I guess let's do this."

They walked into the school and joined the mass of students all going in different directions. It was hard not to get separated in the crowd, but Arnold made sure he was always next to Helga. They stopped at Helga's locker, and then Arnold's, to pick up their books, then headed to their History class.

As soon as they entered the classroom Helga heard comments. Namely from Rhonda.

"So then _I_ said...ohmygosh, Jacki, do you see what I see?" her voice dropped to a loud whisper, "That's Arnold Shortman and Helga Pataki. Together! They've hated each other since preschool! Well, really Helga just hated Arnold, but still!" the girl named Jacki whispered something inaudible and Rhonda giggled.

Helga had been watching this little scene from her desk, and now she stood up and walked over to Rhonda and Jacki.

"Hey, Gossip Girls. If you've got something to say about me, say it to my face. Either that, keep your Barbie noses out of my private life. Got it?"

"Helga, we're not nine anymore. You can't just scare us into doing what you want," Rhonda said.

"I'd watch that mouth of yours, Princess," Helga warned, "Don't forget, I've got stories about you from the time you were three. By the way, do you remember the time in second grade when you and Curly—"

"Stop! Don't you dare say one more word, Pataki, or I swear I'll..."

"What? You'll what?"

"Um..." Rhonda wasn't sure what threat she'd intended to make.

"Look Princess, let's do us both a favor and leave it at this: leave me alone, and I'll leave you alone." Helga turned on her heel and walked back to her desk just as the teacher was coming in to start the lesson.

§

The rest of the day went fine, except for an incident at lunch with Harold and Sid, but that was easily handled. At the sound of the bell, Helga left class to find Arnold waiting for her.

"Football Head, how the heck did you get here so fast? The bell just rang!"

"I asked to go get a drink a few minutes ago, and everyone knows there's no water fountain near that classroom, so it took me a while to find one. And then there was only two minutes until the bell, so I just walked here," he grinned and winked at Helga.

"Arnold Shortman, are you telling me you actually ditched the end of class just to come meet me at the bell?And here I thought you never broke the rules!" Helga said in mock surprise.

"Well what's the fun in being good all the time? I can be a little sneaky when I want to."

"Apparently. So, what are we doing now? Walking me home?"

"Well, I guess I could walk you home..." Arnold said thoughtfully, "...or we could go to Slausen's before going back to the boarding house to finish our project for history. It's due on Wednesday after all."

"That sounds great, Arnold! Although could we stop at my house so I can grab some papers?"

"Of course."

So they stopped at Helga's house before going to Slausen's, and the went to Sunset Arms.

Up in Arnold's room, Helga pulled her papers out of her bag while Arnold started his computer.

"Hey, what's this?" he asked, picking up a large envelope from the floor.

"Oh no! That must have been in the pile of stuff I put my papers in. Arnold, please just forget you saw that!" Helga said.

"Okay, Helga, but...what is it?"

"It's nothing!"

"Helga, if it was nothing you wouldn't be so worked up over it."

"But...it's...alright, I'll just tell you; my parents kept photo albums of every year of Olga's life, but there's not much stuff about mine. So I decided that I was going to take matters into my own hands. In short, it's an envelope filled with as many memories as I could find."

"Wow, Helga. That's really sad that your parents didn't do anything like this for you, but I'm glad that you're doing it. It's really important to save your memories. Hey, could, um, could I offer you some stuff to put in it?"

"You want to help me fill this thing? Really?" Helga asked.

"Sure. Only if you want me to, though."

"I would love nothing more, Arnold!"

Arnold smiled and got down a box from a top shelf by his bed, then sat down and gestured Helga over to join him. He opened the box and lifted out a magazine from seven years ago. On the cover, nine year old Helga scowled back at them, the words "It Girl" plaster across the bottom of the cover.

"Arnold, you really kept one of these?"

"Well, actually I kept a few of them. Do you want one?"

"Sure, but...Arnold, why did you bother to save these?"

"I don't really know. I just wanted to keep them. Maybe for the memories."

"Well, either way, I'm glad that you did. Being a model was actually kind of fun. Y'know, once you get over all the stuffy makeup artists and junk."

"Yeah. But I'm glad you were able to get out of your contract."

"Oh really? Why's that?" Helga asked.

"Well, first of all because you weren't having fun, but also because...well, you weren't around a whole lot, and we missed you. I missed you."

"Oh Arnold, that's so sweet!" Helga bumped his shoulder playfully, "But you wouldn't have missed me torturing you all the time."

"Actually, I would have."

Helga blushed pink, but she quickly tried to shake it off. To distract herself from Arnold's cute little comments, she opened to envelope.

"Hey, uh, since you're helping me with this thing now, do you want to see what else is in here?"

"Only if you want me to," Arnold said, "After all, it's your personal memory collection; if you want to keep it private, then that's fine."

"Arnold, the question was _do you want to see it_," Helga said pointedly.

"You're right. Well then sure, I'd love to see what things have made your life special."

"Alright. I'm going to warn you, though, some of this stuff might be a little...strange."

Without looking at Arnold's reaction to her warning, Helga dumped the contents of the envelope on Arnold bed. Arnold gazed at the collection of memories and felt like he was going back in time; there were photos of various places, like Slausons and Gerald Field, and pictures of their friends and Mr. Simmons. There were also hand done drawings Arnold assumed Helga had made, each one depicting an adventure they had had in amazing detail. There were big things, like saving the neighborhood and going to San Lorenzo, but there were also pictures of smaller events, like the two of them outside Urban Tots and the time they were in Romeo & Juliet together. There was poems that Helga had written over the years, and finally there was a long pink ribbon sitting on top of it all.

"Helga, is this...this can't be the same..."

"...the same hairbow you complimented when I was three? You bet. I never wore it after that day."

"Really? Why not?"

"Because you said you liked it! Doi!" Helga laughed.

"But Helga...y'know, I've always wondered this, but why did what I said make such an impact on you?"

"Arnold, you were the first person to actually care about me. Until then I'd thought that I was doomed to forever be invisible, but you saw me, and you cared."

"Helga, I'm sure your parents care, they just can't really show it."

"Are you kidding? My parents don't give a damn about me. Proof of that is what's sitting in front of us."

Arnold looked down at the pile of pictures in front of them. Helga parents had kept a photo album of every year of Olga's life, but couldn't be bothered to do the same for Helga. That thought filled Arnold with such a feeling of sadness that he hugged Helga tightly.

"I'm sorry about your parents," he whispered, "They don't know a good thing when they see it. And you're wonderful, Helga."

"Arnold...thank you," Helga whispered back. After a moment they sat back and surveyed the pile of pictures again.

"Hey, what's this?" Arnold asked, picking up a photo he hadn't seen before.

"Oh my God, I forgot that was in here! Arnold, give me that!" Helga tried to swipe the picture from Arnold's hand, but he held it just out of reach.

"Helga, is this a baby picture of you?" he asked. Indeed, the picture was of a smiling blond haired baby with a pink ribbon tied around a small piece of her hair.

"Arnold I swear, give me that!"

"But Helga, it's such a cute picture of you!"

"I don't care. Give it back!"

"Wait, let me see one thing!"

Helga leaned in very close to Arnold,

"Arnold, I mean it. I want that picture on the count of three, so whatever it is, look fast."

Arnold glanced at the picture one more time, then looked at Helga. Slowly, he closed the distance between them to kiss the tip of her nose.

"Yep, you definitely got cuter," he said.

Helga blushed darkly and looked at the bedspread.

"Arnold..."

"Helga..." she looked up at him. He smiled again, then winked at her. Helga blushed darker and looked back at the bedspread.

"Wow, I've never seen the great Helga G. Pataki at a loss for words," Arnold chuckled.

"Well what do you want me to say? I'm still trying to wrap my head around you loving me!"

"Well maybe this with help..." Arnold leaned across the pictures to kiss Helga slowly. Her head spun, then seemed to explode. _'Holy crap, he's an amazing kisser!' _Helga thought. And then all thought ceased and all she could focus on was Arnold and the amazing kiss they were sharing.


	8. Chapter 8

**Can we just call this chapter short and sweet? Sorry, but I swear I'll have another up on Saturday, so can you just wait that long? Thanks a bunch! :) Plus, I have a secret plan in the works that I'm hoping to show you guys soon *looks around all sneaky* hehehe ;) Okay, okay, enough chatter - TO THE CHAPTER!**

**Disclaimer: I OWN HEY ARNOLD! WAIT, NO I DON'T! darn...**

Chapter 8

After a while Helga had decided she should head home (at the suggestion of Stella), and now she lay in bed thinking.

_'I can't believe Arnold and I are really dating! And he asked me to homecoming! Dang, that's in a week! I'll have to bring Phoebe shopping with me for a dress. And shoes. And I should probably get some makeup. And maybe some jewelry. I wonder what Arnold's planning on wearing? Oh God, I just realized homecoming means dancing! The last time Arnold and I danced was that one April Fools day. Well, and at the celebration the Green Eyed people had before we left, but that wasn't formal. This is like, real dancing, in front of everyone. Criminy, what am I going to do? Maybe Phoebe can help me. But on the other hand, that means slow dancing with Arnold, which I've only been dreaming of for __forever__. Oh well, even if I make a total fool of myself at least I still have Arnold. As long as I don't screw anything up too badly, everything should be at least somewhat fine. But oh man, that kiss! Where did he learn to do that?!' _Helga finally fell asleep with the memory of Arnold's lips on hers.

§

Likewise, Arnold lay in his bed thinking over the day.

'_I can't believe how well everything is working out! But she's still so scared that I'm going to take back what I said on the roof. I should do something really special to show her that I meant it. But what? I'm not really good with words, and flowers just don't seem right. I need something really special. Oh well, I'll figure it out tomorrow or something. I'm just glad she's letting me into her life a little. I think it's good for her to learn that she can trust people. But maybe she trusts me too much. I mean, earlier when I kissed her...I don't know where that came from! I'm not usually like that! But...maybe it's not a bad thing that I'm not afraid to be a little more...open with her. But then again...oh great, I'm talking myself in circles. Well, for right now everything is perfect, and I'm just going to keep enjoying it one day at a time.'_

§

"Phoebe, I have another big problem that I need your help with!" Helga said as she slid into her seat at lunch Tuesday afternoon.

"What is it, Helga?"

"I need to go dress shopping, and I'm going to need your advice; when are you free?"

"Well, I was actually planning on going later today, but if a different day would be better for you then I can go some other time."

"No, today's perfect. I don't want to wait too long anyway."

"Helga, may I ask why you need a dress so urgently? Oh my, did...did 'Ice Cream'?"

"Yes!" Helga answered Phoebe's unspoken question, "Friday night I went to his house for dinner, and then he asked me. And he asked me to be his girlfriend!"

"Oh that's wonderful, Helga! Don't worry, we'll go shopping after school to get you everything you need!"

"And everything you need. Let's not forget you and Tall Hair Boy are going to homecoming together as well."

"Oh Helga, please don't mention that! Every time I think about it I get nervous again!" Phoebe squeaked.

"Oh Phoebe, you'll be fine!" Helga assured her.

"I hope you're right, Helga."

§

After school, Helga and Phoebe hurried to the mall so they'd have plenty of time to find dresses. And it was a good thing they had plenty of time, because neither girl could find a dress she liked.

"What about this one, Phoebe? For you I mean."

"Well, I like it, but the neckline is so low..."

"Not quite that comfortable around Geraldo yet, huh? Don't worry, we'll find one."

"Do you like this one, Helga?"

"I like the top, but the skirt is kind of short, and I do not need to add worrying about keeping my skirt down to my list of things that I'm worrying about."

Finally, after two hours and at least a hundred dresses, both girls found dresses they liked. Phoebe's was blue (naturally) with mesh straps and a knee-length skirt. The beading on the bodice was complemented by a sash that matched the straps.

Helga's was a little more adventurous; it only had one strap, which crossed over her left shoulder and down to a cross-piece of fabric that landed just below her shoulder blades, leaving her back open. The skirt was shorter than Phoebe's, hitting about an inch and a half above Helga's knees, and decorated with little accents of silver sequins and thread, which matched the strap. The rest of the dress what a beautiful shade of pink that went perfectly with Helga's famous bow.

Both girls easily found shoes to match their dresses, and by the time they headed home, they both knew that this was going to be a homecoming to remember.


	9. Chapter 9

**Hello again! Okay, so I said this would be up tomorrow; I got finished early, what can I say? I hope you guys like it, especially since it's the chapter where...they got to homecoming! I hope this is written alright, since all I have to go on is the homecomings from my school, which are small. Oh well, I did my best! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Do I own Hey Arnold? No.**

Chapter 9

Saturday night Helga was a wreck. Well, emotionally she was; she kept going from feeling complete bliss and joy to utter terror and back again. She had called Phoebe three times, but Phoebe wasn't doing much better. Currently, Helga stood in front of her mirror with a hairbrush in one hand and a bottle of hairspray in the other.

"So help me, I will make my hair behave if it's the last thing I do!" Helga said aloud. "Listen hair, tonight I'm going to homecoming with _Arnold Shortman_. Do you hear that? So it would be really nice if you could just cooperate with me for once. I promise tomorrow it's back to the pigtails, but for tonight please just do what I want!" She once again pulled a piece into place and tried to pin it there. But as soon as she let go it slipped loose.

"_D__ammit!_" Helga yelled. She pulled it back again, this time twisting it a bit, then pinned it in place and drowned it in hairspray. Once the hairspray had dried she released the section of hair, and amazingly it stayed in place!

"Thank God," Helga said in relief. And so began the long task of pinning and hairspraying every single twist of her hair. As soon as she finished she worried that it would look weird, but one look in the mirror changed her mind.

"Wow, it actually doesn't look that bad! It actually looks pretty decent. Who am I kidding, it looks great!" she smiled. Finally done with her hair, Helga turned her attention to her makeup; she wasn't all that familiar with makeup, but she was going to give it a try. For Arnold.

"Alright, this can't be that hard, right?" she said, picking up a compact of blush. After a few trial-and-error attempts that ended in Helga mentally thanking Phoebe for telling her to buy the makeup remover wipes, Helga managed to get a look she liked.

Just as she finished applying her lipstick, she heard the doorbell ring. She pulled on her shoes and thanked her good judgment in buying a short dress and short heels. She grabbed her purse and ran out of her room.

From where she was standing she could see down to the front door, but no one down there could see her. There was Arnold, looking absolutely amazing. Helga straightened her dress and checked her hair, then attempted to walk gracefully down the stairs.

Arnold's smiling face looked up at her, and everything felt perfect. Until she tripped. Just as Helga's foot hit the last step, her heel tilted and she stumbled forward. She expected to hit the hard floor, but she didn't. Instead she was wrapped in Arnold's arms, safe.

"You okay?" he asked.

"More than okay," Helga smiled.

"Well then, shall we?" Arnold asked, nodding in the direction of the door.

"You bet, Football Head."

§

By the time they got to the school, Helga was far less nervous than she had been; being with Arnold did that.

As they approached the admission desk, though, Helga started to walk slower.

"Helga? Is something wrong?" Arnold asked.

"No. Yes. Not really. I don't know," Helga said.

Arnold pulled her off to the side and took her hand in his,

"Helga, what's wrong? Tonight's supposed to be fun."

"I know, but...I'm a little scared. I hate to admit it, and I'd never admit it to anyone but you, but it's true. The great Helga G. Pataki is scared."

"Of what?"

"Public humiliation and ridicule! Arnold, I spent fourteen years pretending to hate you, and now we're dating. I know we kind of cured that image on Monday, but we still pretty much hid the whole dating thing. Do you know what that means? Rhonda's going to start every rumor on the planet, Sid and Harald will tease me into the next century, and—"

"Helga. Shhh, calm down. Okay, so maybe people are going to be a little surprised; it won't be the end of the world."

"I don't know..."

"Helga, no matter what happens, we'll get through it. Together."

"Okay. You're right, we can do this."

They got back in line and paid their entry fee, then they walked into the gym.

Lights were everywhere, casting a warm glow over everything, while colored lights from projectors danced across the walls. And despite Arnold reassurance, they made quite an entrance.

"Arnold, everyone's looking at us," Helga mumbled.

"It's okay, Helga, I've got you. Let 'em look," Arnold whispered back. Slowly they walked over to the refreshment table, and by the time they got there everyone had gone back to dancing.

"See, Helga? No one cares that we're together."

"Yeah, I guess I overreacted. Thanks for calming me down, Hair Boy; I don't know what I would do without you."

They stood by the table sipping punch for a few minutes until Helga noticed the newest couple to arrive.

"Hey Arnold, check out who just showed up! Let's go say hi!" Helga said.

Indeed, Gerald and Phoebe had just arrived, and seeing Arnold and Helga seemed to make them both relax a bit. They all talked for a minute, but since it was hard to hear over the music they it didn't last long, and soon Gerald was leading Phoebe onto the dance floor just as a slow song started.

Arnold glanced at Helga, who was looking at the dance floor.

"Helga, would you like to dance?" Arnold asked, although he was pretty sure he knew the answer.

"Of course, Football Head!" she said excitedly. Arnold took her hand and led her to the center of the floor.

"Arnold, I probably should have told you this before, but I don't really know how to dance," Helga said quietly.

"Don't worry, Helga, you're in good hands," he said with a smile that looked just like the one he had given her during the tango they shared on April Fools Day years ago.

Arnold took one of Helga's hands in his and wrapped his arm around her waist; he could feel Helga stiffen, then almost melt under his touch.

"Are you okay, Helga?" he whispered in her ear.

"Uh...um...y-yeah...I..." she mumbled. She looked up at Arnold, and as soon as their eyes met she felt a feeling of calm wash over her,

"Yeah, I'm fine. Better than fine. Perfect."

Arnold smiled, then slowly they began to sway to the music that filled the gym. They fell in rhythm together quickly, and the world began to fall away.

Helga wasn't sure how, but somehow during their dance atones other hand had joined to first at her waist, and both of hers were around his neck. Just as the song ended she looked up at Arnold, who kissed her gently.

"Wow," she breathed as their lips parted.

"My thoughts exactly," Arnold grinned.

Another song was already playing, but it was much more upbeat. Helga wished it was slower so she and Arnold could stay just like they were.

"I have an idea, Helga," Arnold whispered, "Unless you want to stay here..."

"I'd follow you anywhere, Arnold; lead away."

"Okay, but we're going to have to be sneaky..." Arnold warned.

They casually walked to the side of the gym, then when no one (mainly the teacher chaperones) was looking, Arnold led Helga out a side door.

No one said anything until they were safely inside a nearby janitor's closet.

"Wow, Arnold," Helga chuckled, "I never thought I'd see the day you broke the rules; you _do_ know we're not supposed to go anywhere in the school other than the gym, _right_?"

"Yes, I know. But as long as we don't get caught then I don't see a problem. Unless you want to go back..."

"Arnold, you're talking to the queen of sneaking around. I really have no problem at all being in here, especially with you."

Arnold smiled and leaned in to kiss her again. They probably would have stayed in the closet for quite some time, if it wasn't for the door suddenly flying open. They jumped apart and stood as far apart as possible, face to face with a very unhappy teacher.

"So, I guess she was right. What are you two doing in here? Mr. Shortman, you especially! I don't think I've ever heard of you breaking _any_ rules. And Ms. Pataki...well, you I'm not quite as surprised at. I have half a mind to send you both home right now."

"I'm sorry. We—" Helga began.

"It was my fault," Arnold broke in, "It was my idea, Helga just followed me. I'm sorry, it was wrong, and we won't do it again, I swear. If you want to sent me home then that's fine, but please don't send Helga home."

"Arnold—" Helga started to protest.

"Well Mr. Shortman, that's very admirable of you. Since this is your first infraction I won't send either of you home, but if it happens again I won't be so lenient."

"I understand. Thank you," Arnold said. He and Helga walked back to the dance, but as soon as they were inside Helga turned to him.

"Arnold, did you really just tell her that you'd take all the blame just so I could stay?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, it was my idea, and it wouldn't be fair for my stupid mistake to cost you the rest of the dance."

"Okay, one, what you did was not stupid in any way, even if we did get caught. And two, if you got sent home I would've left anyway; I wouldn't have any fun without you here."

"I still didn't want it to go on your record."

"I don't care about that. Actually, I can't say I care about much right now, other than maybe getting to dance with you a bit more?" Helga asked.

"How could I say no?" Arnold said, taking her hand as they made their way back to the dance floor.


	10. Chapter 10

**We're finally at chapter 10! I've been waiting for you guys to get to this chapter because now the story ****_really_**** gets interesting! What's going to happen after Homecoming? Read on below!**

**Disclaimer: I...do not own Hey Arnold. I wish I did, though ;)**

Chapter 10

"Thank you for tonight, Arnold. It was perfect," Helga said dreamily. They were standing outside Helga's house, trying to avoid the inevitable moment when she would have to go inside and the night would end.

"Even though we got in trouble?" Arnold asked.

"Especially since we got in trouble. You know, you're really cute when you're surprised."

"Well you're really cute. Just all the time."

"Aw, thanks Football Head," Helga said, blushing lightly, "Well, I really, really, _really_ hate to say this, but I should go in; if I stay out too late my parents might actually notice and then ground me."

"Yeah, we don't want that to happen. Goodnight, Helga. I'm glad you had a good night; I did too"

"Goodnight, Arnold. I'm glad you had a good night, and thank you for making mine so perfect." She kissed him, then turned and walked up the steps to her house. She closed the door, then peeked out the window to secretly watch Arnold leave. But what she saw surprised her; Arnold waved at her before turning to leave. _'That Football Head. My Football Head. He knows me too well, doesn't he?'_

"OLGA! GET IN HERE!" Bob yelled from the trophy room. _'Great' _Helga thought as she pulled off her shoes and walked to the trophy room _'What does he want?'_

"Yes, Bob?"

"What is the meaning of this?!" he yelled.

"The meaning of what?"

"Don't sass me! I get a call from the school saying you snuck into a closet with some boy!"

"First of all, it wasn't "some boy", it was my boyfriend—"

"Boyfriend? You're too young for a boyfriend!"

"I'm _sixteen_, Bob. And anyway, it's not like we were doing anything that bad."

"Oh no? That's not what I heard!"

Helga stared at her father blankly. _'Crap'._

§

Arnold arrived at Sunset Arms, and once inside he leaned against door, replaying the night in his mind again.

"Arnold? Is that you?" Miles called from the living room.

"Yeah, it's me, Dad." Miles stepped into the entryway and sat down on the stairs.

"I think we need to talk," he said.

"Um, okay, what about?" Arnold asked nervously.

"About a phone call I got not too long ago from the school."

"Dad, I can explain!" Arnold said quickly. Miles waited for him to continue.

"Well, see Helga and I were...I mean, we just wanted to..." he sighed, "Okay, Helga and I were dancing, and we wanted some time away from everyone, so I had the idea to sneak into the closet. But then we got caught and I realized how stupid my idea was, and we almost got sent home, and I'm really sorry." Arnold looked down at his shoes.

"Arnold, I'm not mad," Miles said.

"You're not?"

"No. Your mom was a little upset, so I told her I talk to you when you got home. But between you and me..." he lowered his voice, "...I think it was a pretty bold idea. Next time, though, make sure you lock the door behind you."

Arnold stared at his father in disbelief. Then he chuckled.

"Well I guess I don't get the sneaky genes from Mom," he laughed.

"No, she always wants to do the right thing, no matter how much fun the not-so-right thing might be," Miles laughed, "Alright, it's late. Head on up to bed. I'm glad you had a good time."

"Thanks, Dad. I had a great time."

Arnold walked up to his room and got ready for bed. But instead of going to sleep, he lay in bed thinking. About the dance, about school. About Helga.

A while later, just as he was falling asleep, Arnold heard a tapping sound on his skylight. Squinting through the darkness, he made out a familiar shape.

"Helga?" he asked, opening the skylight door, "What are you doing here?"

"Arnold...my father kicked me out." And that was all she got out before she started crying.

"Oh Helga," Arnold said. He climbed onto the roof and sat next to her, then pulled her into his lap, "What happened?"

"He got a call from the school about what happened, but he thought more happened than just us kissing. I tried to tell him that nothing really happened, but he wouldn't listen! He kicked me out, and I snuck back in to get this stuff," she gestured to the duffel bag and backpack that sat a few feet away. "Arnold, I'm sorry for coming here so late, but I didn't know what else to do! Phoebe's out of town and I didn't know where else to go, and I was scared; Bob's never looked so angry!"

"Helga, it's okay. Everything will be okay. Come on inside, it's cold out."

Arnold picked up her bags and carried them down, then helped Helga down the latter. He grabbed a few blankets from his closet and one of the two pillows on his bed and put them on the couch.

"I hope you don't mind sleeping in here with me, Helga," Arnold said as he made up the couch bed.

"Of course not, Arnold," she said, sitting down on the newly made couch bed.

"Helga, I can take the couch," Arnold said, "Unless you really want it."

"Arnold, I can't take your bed from you!"

"Sure you can," he said. Gently he picked her up and carried her to his bed. He sat her down and untied her sneakers for her, setting them with her things.

"Do you have pajamas?" he asked. Helga nodded mutely.

"If you want there's a bathroom just down the stairs; third door on the right."

"Okay, thanks, Arnold." Helga pulled some pajamas out of her bag and left. A few minutes later she returned dressed in a purple nightshirt and pink leggings, her hair down and the bow still atop her head.

Once inside Arnold's room again, he picked her up and carried her to the bed again. He laid her down and tucked her in.

"Okay?" Arnold asked.

"Very okay. Thank you, Arnold. I don't know what else I would have done if I couldn't stay here."

"Helga, I never would have turned you away; you needed my help, and I'm happy to do what I can." Arnold turned to walk over to the couch, but Helga caught his hand.

"Arnold, come here a sec; there's something I need to tell you."

"What is it, Helga?" Arnold asked.

Helga pulled him close to her and whispered in his ear.

"I love you, Arnold. More than I can ever tell you. But I'll spend eternity trying."

"I love you, too," Arnold whispered back, "And I'll spend my life showing you just how much I do." He kissed her goodnight, the walked over to the couch. Before long, both of them were asleep.

§

When Arnold woke up it was still dark; his watch read 4:16 am. He sat up, wondering what had woken him, until he saw Helga. She was sitting on the bed with her knees pulled up and her arms resting on them, her face buried in her arms and half hidden by her hair.

Arnold got up and walked over to her. He sat down on the bed and wrapped his arms around her, holding her close.

"Sorry I woke you, Arnold," Helga whispered, wiping tears from her face.

"Don't worry about it, Helga. I don't care. You're much more important."

"I just never thought he'd really throw me out. I mean, yeah he gets on my nerves, and no he's not the best, but he's my dad. And now what am I going to do? I can't just live in your room."

"No, but you can live in the boarding house," Arnold said.

"Arnold, I can't afford that."

"Helga, my parents wouldn't charge you. You're family. You've always been family."

"Arnold...thank you. Really. For everything."

"You're welcome, Helga."

They sat there for a while until Helga felt better.

"We should try and get some more sleep. It's late...or early, depending on how you look at it," Arnold said.

Helga cracked a smile, but then it faded.

"Arnold...I know this is probably going to be totally out of line, and I should just keep my mouth shut, but..."

"What is it, Helga?"

"...Will you stay with me...here?" she looked down at the bed, then at Arnold, then back at the bed.

"Helga—"

"I know, I shouldn't have even mentioned it, it's just I'd been thinking about it, but of course we shouldn't, and..." Helga didn't finish.

"Well," Arnold began, "It's true that we probably shouldn't...but if no one but us knows about it, then...I wouldn't mind."

Helga looked at Arnold in disbelief. _'He would really...oh wow!'_

Arnold sat back down on the bed, then got up again.

"I'm not going to make this mistake twice," he said, locking his door.

"Wow, Arnold, you really are a rebel!" Helga giggled. Arnold blushed,

"Well...I just didn't want a repeat of homecoming."

"Considering that's what got me in trouble, I agree," Helga said. Arnold climbed back on the bed and lay down on the side closest to the wall.

"Oh wait," he said, sitting up, "I forgot to get my pillow."

"Arnold, just share this one with me, okay? Please?"

"A-alright."

They lay there in silence for a minute, trying to get used to being so close to each other like this.

"Helga, your hair is so soft..." Arnold murmured, running his fingers through it gently. Rather than respond verbally, Helga slid closer to Arnold, closing the space between them so that she could snuggle up to him.

"And you make a wonderful teddy bear; can I cuddle with you more often?"

"Anytime, Helga," Arnold smiled. He wrapped his arms around Helga and pulled her close, and them both fell asleep smiling.

**A/N:**

**Now that you've read the chapter, I have a question: I picked the time 4:16 for a reason. Can anyone guess what that reason is? Let me know your guess! I'll put the reason in the beginning of the next chapter, and you can see if you guessed right! Hint: It is a Hey Arnold reference, and it has something to do with an episode ;) Happy guessing!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Wow! I got a ton of reviews on this last chapter! Thanks so much! Okay, so as promised, here's the answer to my little quiz question: 4:16 was supposed to represent season four, episode sixteen - "Helga on the couch". More people than I thought guessed it; Good job, guys! Alright, now on to chapter 11!**

**Disclaimer: You know how it goes.**

Chapter 11

The next morning Helga woke up to find herself snuggle right up against Arnold with his arms around her. For a brief moment she panicked and tried to come up with a plan, but then she remembered: it was okay that she was there.

Content with the lack of need to move, Helga cuddled closer to Arnold and relished the feeling of being so close to him. _'Well, if my life has to get all screwed up like this, at least I still have Arnold'_ she thought.

"Helga?" Arnold mumbled, waking up.

"'Morning, Football Head. Sleep well?"

"Yeah, I did. You?"

"Arnold, I've never slept better in my life," Helga smiled.

"Good. Wow, I really do not want to move anytime soon. Can we stay like this forever?" Arnold asked, only half joking.

"Arnold, I'd like nothing more than to say yes, but we have school tomorrow and we have to present our FTI project, which isn't done yet. So in short, we really should get up, much as I don't want to. Plus, I'm kinda hungry."

"Oh, okay, Helga. You're right." Arnold and Helga slowly sat up, and Arnold managed to keep one arm around Helga the whole time.

"You going to let go of me anytime soon, Hair Boy?" Helga joked.

"Only if you want me too," Arnold answered.

"Short Man? Are you awake?" Phil called from the other side of the door. Helga instantly jumped and ended up falling on the floor in her surprise.

"Yeah, I'm awake, Grandpa. Did you need my help with something?"

"No, I just thought I heard you talking to yourself, that's all."

Suddenly Arnold remembered that no one knew Helga had stayed the night. Helga still looked a bit jumpy, so Arnold put a hand on her shoulder.

"I'll go explain everything to him. Don't worry, okay?" he said quietly. Helga nodded, and Arnold got up and stepped out of his room. Helga sat there on the floor listening to the sound of Arnold and Phil's voices from the other side of the door, but she couldn't tell what was being said. _'I hope Arnold doesn't get in trouble for letting me stay in his room last night. All he did was help me when I needed it, after all.'_

Arnold returned and smiled at Helga, still on the floor.

"Everything's okay, Helga. Grandpa wanted me to tell you that you're welcome to stay here as long as you need, no charge. Oh, and he's going to tell the borders that due to recent circumstances you're staying here, and they're not allowed to ask you about it."

"Thanks, Football Head."

"No problem, Helga."

Arnold extended his hand to Helga, who gladly took it and go to her feet.

"Well, I guess I'd better get dressed. Then we can get some breakfast; I'm starving!"

"Sounds good to me."

Helga grabbed her bag and headed to the bathroom, then joined Arnold at the top of the stairs.

Downstairs at the breakfast table everyone did just as Phil had asked; they greeted Helga warmly and asked how she slept as if she stayed there every night, but no one said anything about why she was there. And although she couldn't fully forget her problems, Helga still felt blessed. _'So what if Bob kicked me out? I wouldn't mind living here. I could get an after school job and help out around her to pay for a room, even though Phil said it's free, and I would be living with Arnold! Almost like we were...like we were married. And I could see the borders every day, plus Phil, Gertie, Miles, and Stella. It would be nice.'_

§

After breakfast Arnold helped Helga move her things into an empty room and get the bed made. Once that was finished they went up to Arnold's room to finish their project.

Helga lay on the floor proofreading their presentation while Arnold finished editing the footage of FTI.

"Hey Arnold?" Helga said after a while, sitting up, "Can I talk to you about something?"

"Of course, Helga," Arnold said. He saved the work he had done so far before joining her on the floor.

"What's on your mind?"

"Well...I was thinking about how long we've known each other, and how we've been through a lot together...and how I haven't been honest with you."

"What do you mean, Helga?"

"When we were younger, I was kind of a basketcase. Heck, I'm _still_ a basketcase!"

"No you're not, Helga."

"Arnold, maybe you should wait until I finish before you say that. I haven't been honest with you, and even though it all happened years ago, I wouldn't feel right not telling you about it. It would be like I was lying to you, and I don't want to do that. Ever."

"Well if that's what you want. You can tell me anything, Helga, I promise."

"Alright. Well...wow, where to start? Um, I used to make shrines to you in my closet, I've written poetry about you up until...about a week ago, and that's just because I haven't had time to write any new ones. I ruined the Cheese Festival for you every time you were there with a girl (sorry about that by the way). Oh, and I tricked Rhonda, Sheena, Phoebe, and Lila out of the part of Juliet in fourth grade just so I could kiss you. And I impersonated your penpal Cecille one Valentines day. Um, April Fools that year you pranked me I only pretended to be blind so you'd take me to the dance. I faked amnesia one time after my mom told me I'd had the day before and you helped me (thanks for that). Um...that's all I can think of at the moment, but...yeah. Sorry I've been such a lunatic over the years," Helga took a deep breath and looked at Arnold. _'Okay, there it is. No secrets, no lies, just truth. I hope this isn't a horrible mistake...'_

Arnold had been listening intently to Helga this whole time, and now he began to chuckle.

"Arnold?" Helga asked.

"I'm sorry, Helga, I don't mean to laugh, but..." he was cut off by his own laughter.

"Well!" Helga huffed. Before Arnold knew what was happening, Helga pushed him into his closet, closed it, and sat against it.

"Who's laughing now, Football Head?" Helga smirked.

"I'm sorry, Helga! Please let me out and let me explain."

"Or," she began devilishly, "I could just listen to your little "explanation" through the door. Yeah, that sounds more fun."

"Helga!"

"Oh come on, Hair Boy, just play along. For me?"

Helga heard Arnold sigh, then some shuffling as he got comfortable.

"Alright, if you want me to explain from in here, then so be it. I wasn't laughing at you, Helga, I swear. It's just...I can just picture nine year old you running around doing all that stuff, and...well, it was a really cute mental picture."

"So, let me see if I have this right...you were laughing because you thought I was cute?"

"That's right, Helga."

"Aw, gee, Football Head, thanks."

Helga opened the closet door to find Arnold sitting crosslegged on the floor, looking like a little boy who got caught stealing from the cookie jar. She knelt down to his level and whispered,

"So you really don't think I'm crazy?"

Arnold smiled and pulled her into his lap, his arms wrapped around her waist.

"The only one who's crazy is me," he whispered, "Crazy about you."

"Wow, Arnold," Helga said, blushing, "That was both really sweet and really cheesy!"

"Yeah, I guess it was pretty cheesy." Arnold admitted. Helga twisted around to kiss his nose.

"But it was mostly really sweet." she giggled.

They sat together in the closet until Arnold pointed out that they really did need to finish their project for tomorrow, and they returned to their work, sharing love-struck glances every few minutes.

**A/N**

**Alright, I have to apologize for any spelling/grammar errors, but spell-check won't work right now and I don't want to make you guys wait any more for this chapter. Sorry :/**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12! I feel so productive! Haha, actually I have other stuff I should probably be doing, but this is more fun :D Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Hey Arnold.**

Chapter 12

After a few hours of work, Arnold and Helga were satisfied with the end result of their project. After cleaning up their notes, they went down stairs to get some lunch.

"Hello, kids," Stella smiled from her place at the sink, doing dishes, "Is there anything I can do for you?"

"I don't think so, but thanks for the offer, Mom," Arnold smiled. Being able to say stuff like that would never get old for him. "We just came down to get some lunch."

"Alright. I think there's stuff in there for sandwiches, if you want."

Arnold set work on the sandwiches while Helga helped Stella finish the dishes.

Just as Arnold and Helga were heading to the living room, Stella poked her head out of the kitchen.

"Helga, you're more than welcome to stay here for as long as you like, but maybe you should try calling your parents? I'm sure your father regrets what he said."

"Yeah, maybe..." Helga said, though she highly doubted Bob regretted anything.

"Helga? Do you want to call?" Arnold asked.

"Well, I suppose it can't hurt, right?"

"Right. You can use the phone in my room, if you want. It'll be a bit more private."

"Thanks, Arnold," Helga said, setting her plate on the coffee table, "I'll be right back."

Helga slowly climbed the many stairs to Arnold's room, thinking about what she would say. In the end, she still wasn't sure as she dialed her phone number.

"Pataki house," Bob answered.

"Um, hi B-dad. It's me, Helga..."

She listened for a minute, then heard the last thing she expected to hear: the ended call buzzer. _'He hung up on me. He didn't even say anything, he just...'_ suddenly Helga couldn't take it anymore. Her own father wouldn't even talk to her over something she didn't do! She slammed the phone back on its base and stomped down to join Arnold.

"How'd it go?" Arnold asked.

Helga flopped onto the couch and crossed her arms.

"He hung up on me."

"Oh Helga..."

"I can't _believe_ him!," she exploded, "Like it or not, I'm his _daughter_! He can't just push me aside like some beeper that didn't sell well! He won't even speak to me! How could he?!" Suddenly Helga noticed Arnold looked positively miserable. She slid closer to him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Football Head, I didn't mean to throw all of that at you; I'm just mad at my dad."

"You should be mad at me..." Arnold said quietly.

"What? Why?" Helga asked, completely confused.

"Because I'm the reason your father kicked you out! If I hadn't suggested we sneak out of the dance then we wouldn't have gotten caught, and then you wouldn't have gotten in trouble!"

"Arnold, please don't blame yourself," Helga said, "It's not your fault."

"Yes it is!"

"Arnold, look at me." Arnold turned to look at Helga, who looked like she might cry.

"Arnold, it is _not. Your. Fault_. Understand? My father overreacted and blew things out of proportion, and that's why this all happened. Please don't blame yourself. I can't stand to see you this mad at yourself!"

"But Helga—"

"Arnold, I don't blame you, so stop blaming yourself, okay? Please. I love you too much to see you unhappy. I always have."

"I love you too, Helga. That's why I feel so horrible."

"Arnold..."

"Alright, alright, I'll try to stop blaming myself. For you."

"Thank you, Arnold." Helga snuggled against his shoulder, and picked up her sandwich.

"Alright, pastrami on rye! My favorite!" she smiled.

"I know, that's why I made it."

"Arnold, you sure know how to make me feel better."

"I'm glad," Arnold smiled. He placed a gentle kiss on her cheek, then picked up his own sandwich, which Helga proceeded to pretend to try and steal bites of.

§

The next day Helga and Arnold packed up everything they needed for their presentation in a bag. Helga was a little nervous about the presentation, but she was also excited.

Once in class she couldn't sit still; her fingers kept tapping on her desk every few seconds.

"Don't worry so much," Arnold said, putting his hand on Helga's to stop her tapping. Briefly she blushed and began to make a defensive comment before she remembered that everyone now knew about her and Arnold.

"I know, I know. I'm just jumpy. I'll be fine. But thanks, Football Head; you always know what to say."

The teacher walked in and greeted the class, then asked who would like to present their project first; no one said anything.

"Alright," she said, picking up her list of partners, "Why don't we have Helga and Arnold go first?"

Helga froze. First? _'No way, I can't go first!'_ she thought. But Arnold was already picking up their bag and the teacher was pulling down the projection screen. _'Alright, you can do this, Helga'_ she repeated to herself. She joined Arnold at the front of the room and he handed her her half of the paper.

"Our project is on the Future Technology Industries building, often called Future Tech or FTI. It was built in 1956." Arnold began. As he proceeded to talk about the history of the building Helga couldn't help watching him. _'He seems so confident and comfortable in front of the class' _Helga noticed._ 'How does he do that?'_

Once Arnold's half was done, Helga took a deep breath, glanced at Arnold, and began her part.

"In more recent history, seven years ago Future Tech Industries was taken over by a new CEO, a man named Scheck. He wanted to create a large shopping plaza right in town, which would have eliminated many homes and businesses on Vine street. Thankfully, with the help of many friends, Arnold here was able to save the neighborhood and many people's homes and businesses.

In conclusion, Future Tech Industries is an old, historic building with many stories and memories that link the past, the present, and the future."

Everyone clapped while their teacher turned the lights back on and rolled up the screen.

"That was a very interesting and creative presentation. Very nice!" she said. Arnold and Helga turned in their papers to be graded and returned to their seats.

"You were great, Helga!" Arnold said quietly as their teacher looked at who would got next.

"Not as good as you, Hair Boy. You were amazing!" Helga whispered. Further conversation was cut off when the teacher announced that Rhonda and Curly would be presenting next, and Helga eagerly turned her attention to Rhonda cringing at Curley, who was looking a bit more enthusiastic than perhaps he should.

**A/N**

**Hey, anyone want to play some more trivia? Ok, so I couldn't find an actual date for when the FTI building was built, so 1956 has a different importance. Anyone wanna guess what it is? (No cheating and looking it up, ok?) :) Bye!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hey everyone! Ok, first I want to say I'm sorry if the spacing and line up on this chapter is messed up, but I pasted the text into the doc manager and it was ****_really_**** messed up, so hopefully I fixed everything. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: :)**

Chapter 13

At the end of the day Helga made one final stop at her locker. She pulled the books she needed out of it before slamming it shut with a satisfying crash.

"Wow, what did your locker ever do to you?" a voice chuckled next to her.

"Arnold! Geeze, Football Head, I didn't know you were there!" Helga exclaimed. Indeed, Arnold was leaning against the lockers next to Helga's.

"Sorry I surprised you, Helga."

"Eh, don't worry about it. Besides, I can't really say surprises from you bother me," Helga chuckled.

Arnold smiled back, and together they started walking down the hall. Suddenly, Helga felt Arnold take her hand and intertwine his fingers with her's.

"Arnold!" Helga said in surprise. She glance around before looking back at him, her cheeks tinged with pink.

"Helga, what's the problem?" Arnold asked.

"I...you...I...you...we...that..." finally Helga settled for mutely gesturing to their linked hands with her other hand.

"Helga, I understand what the problem is. I thought we finally got past all of the "hiding your feelings in public" stuff."

"Yeah, but...I...I mean...and...Arnold, can this wait until we're in private?"

"Yeah, okay," Arnold sighed. He dropped her hand, and they walked the rest of the way home in silence.

§

The silence lasted until Arnold and Helga were seated on Arnold's bed.

"Okay," Arnold said, "So? What's going on?"

"Arnold," Helga sighed, "I...hiding my love for you has been part of my nature since I was three. I can't just change all that in a few weeks!"

"I understand that, Helga, but..." he left the sentence hanging.

"But what, Arnold?"

"But sometimes I feel like you're not even trying. Like you just want to keep us a secret forever. You won't let me even hold your hand in public without acting like the world's going to implode. You barely let me sit with you at lunch!"

"Arnold, I'm trying, okay? But it's not that easy! I don't want to keep us a secret, but I can't just suddenly not care if people know. I do care, and it's going to take a while before I can change that!"

Arnold looked like he was going to say something, but then he stopped. His face softened and he pulled Helga into a hug.

"I know, Helga. I'm sorry I got annoyed. I know you're trying, and I know it's not easy."

"Well, I could probably try and be a little more outgoing. I mean, the world won't end if we hold hands or whatever."

They stayed curled up on Arnold's bed for a while.

"Hey Helga?" Arnold asked.

"Yes, Arnold?"

"Would you like to go out to dinner tonight? Like to Chez Paris?"

"Arnold that sounds wonderful! But...I don't have anything nice enough to wear to a place like that."

"I already thought about that. If I said I knew how you could get a dress, would you want to go?"

"Arnold, the last time you asked a question with that obvious an answer I asked if you were deaf; of course I want to!"

Arnold chuckled while he gently untangled his and Helga's arms.

"Alright, then I'll be right back."

"Hurry, Football Head, I wasn't anywhere near done snuggling with you!" Helga called after him. Arnold smiled at the idea.

"Hey Mom?" he said, walking into the living room where Stella sat reading.

"Hello, Arnold. What can I do for you?"

"Well, I wanted to take Helga out for a special dinner tonight, but she doesn't really have anything she thinks is okay to wear..."

"Say no more; Helga can borrow one of my dresses. You can tell her whenever she wants to I'd be happy to help her choose one."

"Thanks Mom! I was just going to ask if you would mind driving her to buy one."

"Oh, well I think she'll like these more anyway."

"I'm sure. I think Helga looks up to you as the mom she never had."

"Well I'm glad I can give her someone to look up to. You be good to her, Arnold; she really likes you."

"How can you tell?"

"Trust me, I can tell."

Arnold smiled and returned to his room.

"Alright, Helga, it's all set. My mom said you can borrow one of her dresses."

"Oh Arnold, she doesn't have to do that!" Helga exclaimed, "I can just go buy something!"

"Helga, she wants you to borrow one. Don't worry about it."

Arnold sat down on the bed with her and wrapped his arms around her, "You worry too much," he whispered.

"Well...I...Arnold, you know I can't...form coherent...thoughts when you...do that..." Helga trailed off as Arnold gently kissed her cheek a few times.

"Then don't think," Arnold murmured.


	14. Chapter 14

**Ok, so this chapter had alignment problems too, so again, apologies! I hope you enjoy this chapter anyway.**

**Disclaimer: Hey Arnold belongs to Craig.**

Chapter 14

"You really don't have to do this, Stella," Helga said while Stella rummaged through her closet, "I can just go buy something."

"Oh Helga, save your money. I'm happy to help you. Ah, here it is!" Stella produced an elegant pale pink dress from the closet. Despite the years Stella and Miles had been gone the dress looked almost new, thanks to Phil and Gertie, who kept the room in order.

"Oh Stella, that's the most beautiful dress I've ever seen. Are you sure?"

"Of course, Helga. Here, go try it on."

Helga took the dress and stepped behind the folding screen that stood in the corner. Moments later she emerged, the dress fitting her perfectly.

"Helga, you look beautiful!" Stella smiled. Helga could only blush; the dress had taken away all her words. The skirt fell just below her knees, and a sash adorned with a fabric flower in a slightly darker shade of pink than the dress. The neckline was decorated with thin lines of crystals that ended just under the thin straps.

"Stella...thank you. So much. I love it." she whispered.

"It's yours." Stella said, hugging Helga.

"What?"

"Keep it. Think of it as a thank you for all you did in San Lorenzo."

"Stella, I can keep this!" Helga exclaimed.

"Of course you can. Besides, it looks better on you than it ever did on me." Stella helped Helga into some low heels and did her hair and makeup.

"Well, what do you think?" Stella asked, gesturing to the mirror.

Helga looked at her reflection and gasped.

"I look...amazing. Beautiful. Thank you, Stella!"

"You're welcome, Helga. Say, you like stories, don't you?"

Helga nodded. "Let me tell you the story behind that dress; I think you'll like it.

"It was about a year after I met Miles. We had come back from San Lorenzo, and he told me he wanted to take me out on a real date now that we were back in the city. Well, I had no idea what to expect, because he wouldn't tell me anything about what he had planned. So I went out and bought that dress, did my hair and makeup, and when he came to pick me up you'll never guess what he said..."

"What?" Helga asked excitedly.

"He says to me "Oh, um, I guess I should have told you...we, um, we're going mini golfing..."."

"No!" Helga laughed.

"Yes! So I said "Well, if I can set a trap with nothing but some wet leaves, a hair clip, and some vines, then I can certainly mini golf in a dress!" So off we went; we went mini golfing and I had a wonderful time, and then he took me out for ice cream to apologize for not at least giving me a hint about what we were doing."

"That's so romantic!" Helga smiled.

"Yes, it was. And forever after that he always told me where we were going so I could dress accordingly!" Helga and Stella shared a laugh.

§

Arnold stood at the end of the stairs waiting for Helga. He still couldn't believe he was taking Helga out on a real date, even though they had been out to dinner together before. Arnold smiled thinking of the times he and Helga had shared at restaurants.

"Hey Hair Boy, you daydreaming again?" Helga chuckled as she carefully walked down the stairs.

"Yeah..." Arnold began. But the rest of his answer was lost at the sight of Helga. If he had thought she was beautiful before, it was nothing compared to now. She almost seemed to radiate light in every direction, casting a soft glow over everything she touched.

"Arnold? You okay?" Helga asked.

"Yeah, I'm...wow, Helga, you look beautiful."

"Oh, um, well, it was your mom, really. She did all this; I can't style my hair to save my life, much less apply makeup." Helga looked down at her shoes.

Arnold stepped closer to her so they were only inches apart, and gently lifted her chin with a finger.

"I love you, my angel," he whispered before kissing her lightly.

Helga's mind exploded. 'His...his...a-angel?! I'm Arnold's a-angel? He...and I...and...woah...'

"So, shall we?" Arnold asked, taking Helga's hand in his.

"Uh...um, y-yeah, okay..."

Arnold called goodbye to his parents and led Helga out to where the Packard was parked.

"Phil let you use the Packard?" Helga asked while Arnold opened her door.

"Yeah, he said a special night called for a special ride."

Arnold walked around to the driver's side and climbed in. The engine rumbled to life a little unsteadily, but after a moment it smoothed out, and they were on their way.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15! Ok, I actually have some announcements instead of random rambling today: First, I forgot to mention this in the last two chapters, but yes, the date I gave for FTi being built is Craig Barttlet's birthyear. Second, I am currently running a contest! Information is on my profile if you want to enter. Okay, enjoy the chapter!**

**Disclaimer: Same as always.**

Chapter 15

They arrived at Chez Paris shortly, and Helga could feel the butterflies in her stomach grow larger. Arnold took her hand and they walked into the restaurant.

"Reservation for Shortman, party of two." Arnold said to the host.

"Right this way." The host led them to a table set next to the big picture window. Arnold thanked him before pulling out Helga's chair for her.

"Arnold," Helga said, peering over her menu, "You didn't specifically request this table because it's where we sat on Valentines Day by any chance, did you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, Helga," Arnold said, trying to keep the smile off his face.

"Oh really?" Helga raised an eyebrow, "Football Head, you're a terrible liar."

"I know."

They ordered their dinner and talked all the way through dessert about nothing in particular, although when Arnold ordered his cake a la mode Helga couldn't help laughing at the reminder of his code name.

"I think it's cute that you gave me a little nickname," Arnold said upon Helga explaining what was so funny.

"A nickname? Arnold, you've had several nicknames courtesy of me," Helga reminded him.

"Several? I just remember Football Head and Hair Boy. What others were there?"

Helga knew what he was hinting at. 'Crap, I didn't think about that!' "Um, well, there's been...uh...Head Boy, and...Arnoldo, and...and...um..." Helga stuttered.

"Helga, you wouldn't happen to be hiding something, would you?" Arnold asked.

"What? Oh, no, just, um, thinking. I think that's all the nicknames I can remember."

"Oh, I just thought of one more!" Arnold said in mock realization. He leaned toward Helga and lowered his voice so only she could hear.

"What about "Beloved"?" he grinned.

"Arnold!" Helga squeaked.

"Sorry, Helga, but you're just so cute when you get flustered. I couldn't resist."

"Well, I guess I deserve a little payback after the years of torture I put you through, huh Hair Boy?"

"Helga, how many time do I have to tell you I forgive you?"

"I don't know, a hundred or so?" Helga chuckled.

"Or," Arnold said, "I could just show you my little surprise for the night..."

Helga's eyes lit up in surprise, "A surprise? What kind of surprise?"

"The kind that I'm not going to tell you, because that would ruin the surprise!" Arnold laughed. "When you're ready to leave I'll show you."

"Ready!" Helga said eagerly.

"Well hold on a second, Helga," Arnold said, "We have to pay the check!"

"Oh, right."

Arnold got the bill from the waiter, and then led Helga out to the car.

"I hope you don't mind, Helga, but we have to drive a little ways to get to the surprise."

"Arnold, I'd drive anywhere with you."

Arnold smiled and took her hand in his, and drove off into the night.

§

When they arrived at their destination, Helga looked confused.

"Arnold, why are we here?"

"You'll see." Arnold got out of the car and walked over to the rope ladder that still hung from Mighty Pete. Helga walked over to join him, brushing her hand across the rough bark.

"Wow, I haven't been here in years. Remember the time my dad almost tore this tree down?"

"Yeah," Arnold put his hand on the tree next to Helga's, "But you were brave enough to stand up to him."

"Well it wasn't that hard. I mean, it's not like we ever got along."

"But he's still your dad."

"Yeah. Okay, before this gets all sappy, what did you bring me here for, Football Head? Aside from a trip down memory lane."

"Oh, just a little surprise..." Arnold grinned. He climbed up the latter, then helped Helga up.

The whole place was dark, except for a small sliver of moonlight shining in from behind the tattered curtains.

"Close your eyes, Helga," Arnold whispered. She complied, and listened to him shuffle around the room for a moment.

"Okay, Helga," Arnold said, "Open your eyes."

When Helga opened her eyes she was met with a beautiful sight; the whole room was lit up with white fairy lights, casting a doge glow on everything. The door to the balcony was open, as were the curtains, letting the full light of the moon shine in.

"Arnold..." Helga breathed.

"Shhh," Arnold whispered, "Dance with me."

Helga nodded, and Arnold pressed a button on the CD player before pulling Helga close to him. They danced around the room slowly, both feeling as if they were the only people on earth.

As the song slowly faded away, Helga and Arnold walked out onto the balcony and looked out over Hillwood.

"It's so beautiful tonight," Helga said quietly.

"Not as beautiful as you," Arnold said, placing his hand on hers where it lay on the railing.

"Arnold...can I ask you something?" Arnold nodded. "Arnold..." Helga hesitated before looking up into his eyes and whispering "Will you kiss me again?"

Arnold smiled and nodded again before leaning down to kiss her lightly.

"Anything for my princess," Arnold said.

"Arnold, I'm hardly a princess," Helga joked, rolling her eyes.

"You're my princess," he said, holding her close. "And you always will be."


	16. Chapter 16

**Happy Thanksgiving everyone (to those of you who celebrate Thanksgiving)! I'm super excited for you guys to read this chapter because there's a twist *****_dun dun duuuun!_***** :) I hope you enjoy it, and have a wonderful Turkey Day (again, those of you who celebrate it. For those of you who don't, have a wonderful day anyway!)**

**Disclaimer: You know the drill.**

Chapter 16

That night when Helga went to sleep she had a wonderful dream.

In her dream, she and Arnold were royalty, a prince and princess. They were at a royal ball, dancing around a grand ballroom to beautiful music. Somehow there was no sound except for that music.

Prince Arnold led her out to a balcony where they could dance alone, away from the eyes of the rest of the guests. Somehow, even though he wasn't speaking, Helga knew what he was saying.

_'You look beautiful, Princess. It's as though the stars __themselves have leaped from the night sky and into your sparkling eyes.'_

_'Oh Arnold, nothing could shine more than your smile.'_

He leaned down slowly to kiss her...and then she woke up. _'Damn!'_ she thought in frustration _'I always wake up just before the __kiss! Oh well, as long as real Arnold keeps giving me kisses I don't need the dream ones.'_

Helga climbed out of bed and got dressed. _'I'm so glad it's Friday. I can't wait for the weekend!'_ she thought.

Just as she was about to leave her room, however, something occurred to her. She ran over to her calendar and counted the days, then counted again to make sure she was right. _'Oh. My. Gosh. It's __been almost exactly a month since Arnold and I started dating! That means in a week it'll be our anniversary! And then the week after that it's Halloween! We should do something fun for Halloween! But first we need to plan our anniversary. What could we do? I don't know, I'll ask Arnold later.'_

Filled with new joy, Helga practically skipped down to breakfast.

"'Morning everyone!" she chirped when she entered the kitchen.

"Good morning Helga!" everyone responded. Arnold began to ask how she slept, but stopped when he noticed she was transfixed by the pile of mail on the table.

"Helga?" he asked, "Is everything okay?"

Helga picked up one of the letters from the stack with shaking hands. "It's from my house," she whispered.

Everyone went quiet. Slowly, carefully, Helga peeled open the envelope. She unfolded the piece of paper and read the letter. When she finished, a single tear ran down her cheek.

"Helga...what's wrong?" Arnold asked. Helga looked at him, only barely aware that they were now alone in the kitchen.

"It's from my father," she whispered. "He wants me...to come home."

Arnold blinked in surprise; he wasn't really sure how to respond to that. Of course he was happy that Helga's father had apologized and wanted her to come home, but a part of him couldn't help but be a little selfish. He wanted Helga to stay. It was so much fun having her here; they could study together, they had dinner every night together (plus breakfast and lunch), and they could sneak up to the roof whenever they wanted to just look at all of Hillwood.

But now that all might end. Even if Helga loved living here, she would probably want to go home. After all, it was her family. The thought of Helga leaving made Arnold's heart hurt, but he didn't let it show._ 'If she wants to go home she should. Besides, it's not like _

_she's __that__ far away.'_ But Arnold knew better. No matter how close she lived, it still wouldn't be as good as her living in the boarding house.

"Arnold? Are you okay?" Helga asked, whiling a tear from her cheek.

"Yeah, sorry Helga. I just got lost in thought for a moment. That's great that your parents want you to come home."

"Yeah, I guess. Only..." she trailed off.

"Only what, Helga?"

"Nothing. Forget it."

They both got up, breakfast forgotten, and shouldered their backpacks.

§

"Oh Helga, there you are!" Phoebe exclaimed as she hurried over the where Helga stood at her locker.

"Huh? Oh, hi Pheebs. What's up?"

"I...well, I have some information that I think you should hear."

"And what would that be? Please tell me it's good news!"

"I'm afraid not," Phoebe said, adjusting her glasses, "I assume you remember the night of Homecoming when you and Arnold were found by a teacher?"

"Yeah, it rings a few bells," Helga said sarcastically.

"Well, I...I know who told her where you two were."

"You do? Who is it?" Helga was instantly furious. Whoever had ratted them out was the reason her father had kicked her out in the first place!

"It was...Rhonda," Phoebe whispered.

"Princess? I should have known it was her! Oh she messed with the wrong girl! Where is she? She's going to regret screwing up my life like that!"

"Helga, I do not believe violence is the best way to handle the situation!" Phoebe said worriedly.

"Oh trust me, Phoebe, I know exactly how to handle this."

Helga crammed the last of her books in her bag and slammed her locker shut. On her way to her first class she kept a sharp eye out for Rhonda, but she was nowhere to be found. In fact, she appeared not to be in school at all. By the last bell Helga still hadn't seen her. _'Well, guess I'll just have to wait until Monday'_ Helga decided.


	17. Chapter 17

**Hey everyone! Did you have a nice holiday? Happy Hanukkah to anyone who celebrates! This chapter has some fun little events in it (well, I think so at least). Remember that letter Helga got? what's going to happen with that? what about Rhonda? ALL WILL BE REVEALED! (Plus there's some cute ArnoldxHelga stuff for you to "Awwwww" over ;3). Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Same old same ;)**

Chapter 17

Back at the boarding house, Arnold and Helga lay cuddled up on Arnold's bed. Little did they know, they were both thinking the same thing: if Helga moved back home, they wouldn't get to do this all the time like they could now.

"Helga," Arnold said, pulling her from her thoughts.

"Yeah?"

"You've been scowling since we got to school. What's wrong?"

"Oh, what isn't wrong, Football Head? Actually, I do have a good reason for being angry: I found out who ratted on us at Homecoming."

"Really?"

"Yep, and you'll never believe...well, actually it's pretty easy to believe who it was. Miss Rhonda Wellington _princess_ Lloyd."

"Really? Rhonda?"

"Oh Arnold, you can't_ really_ be surprised. She hates me, and frankly I can't stand her either. And after I told her to go jump off a cliff when she was gossiping about us she probably wanted to get back at me. Little bi—"

"Helga!" Arnold cut her off.

"Sorry Arnold, but the girl irritates the hell out of me!"

"I know, I just don't like you swearing."

"I know. Sorry."

There was a long pause before either of them spoke again.

"So Helga," Arnold said, "There's something I need to ask you..."

"What's that, Arnold?"

"It's about...that letter you got today."

"Oh, that," Helga said softly.

"Yeah. I was wondering...what you thought about it?"

"I don't really know what to think..."

"...I don't want you to leave." Arnold admitted. "I know it's selfish, and I won't try to stop you if you want to move back home, but...I wish you'd stay here."

"...I don't want to leave either." Helga whispered.

"You don't?" Arnold asked.

"No. Doi! Arnold, we're living together! This has been my dream for years! I mean, yeah I want to be on good terms with my parents, but more than likely this is what would happen: I'd move back, things would be fine for a week or so tops, and then things

would go back to normal. I'd be ignored, alone, and miserable. Or I could stay here with you, my living paradise. Assuming your parents don't mind that is."

"Helga, my parents love you! We all do. Me especially," he grinned and kissed her cheek.

"Flirt," Helga chuckled, poking him lightly in the ribs.

"I'm just saying, none of us want you to go. If you want to stay, then you're more than welcome."

"Thanks, Arnold. I do want to stay. I can't imagine not getting to see your face every morning when I come down to breakfast,

or getting to spent starlit nights looking out over the town with you, or even just this. Getting to come home from a long day of school and

know that I get to snuggle up in your arms makes every day better."

"I agree. I love getting to spend so much time with you. I can't imagine what it would be like to not always have you near me. I'd feel like I lost something."

"Like the time you "lost" your hat?" Helga joked.

"No, more like I lost my soul mate," Arnold said quietly in her ear, his breath sending chills through her.

"A-Arnold, you know how I get when you do that..."

"I know. That's why I love doing it," he chuckled. Helga blushed and kissed his nose.

"I love you. With all my heart," she whispered.

"I love you too, Helga. Forever. And speaking of forever, I believe we have our first anniversary next week, don't we?"

"Well yes it is next week, but how on earth did forever translate to anniversary in that football head of yours?" Helga giggled.

"Well, I was just thinking how if we're going to be together forever, then that means we're going to have anniversaries forever. This is just the first of many." Arnold said.

"Arnold, that is one of the cutest things you've ever said. Together forever? Sounds like Heaven to me!"

"Well that works out perfectly then, since you're my angel."

"Okay, now that_ is_ the cutest thing you've ever said!"

Arnold smiled and hugged her closer, "So really, how should we spend our first anniversary?".

"Oh, there are so many fun things we could do. What do you think?"

"Well, I was thinking maybe a picnic dinner on the roof, before it gets too cold for us to have any more picnics, and then maybe go to a play or something."

"That sounds absolutely wonderful, Arnold! What play did you have in mind?"

"Do you want to guess?"

"Arnold, you know I suck at guessing. Just tell me!"

"Or," Arnold smiled deviously, "I could just make you wait and have it be a surprise!"

"Arnold! Don't make me wait now that you've got me all curious!" Helga exclaimed. "You're evil!".

"Oh, I'm evil? Because that's not what you were saying a few minutes ago..." Arnold said, slowly dropping his voice until it was

just a whisper in her ear. He gently kissed the soft spot behind her ear before whispering "Am I still evil?"

"Y-y-you...a-and...Ar-Arnold...oh wow..." Helga stuttered. She melted against him and sighed. After a moment she regained her ability

to speak.

"Arnold, how do you always know exactly what to do to leave me speechless?"

"Well, I guess I kind of learned along the way of this almost-entire month we've been dating."

"But I can't do it to you anymore! I miss when I used to kiss you or something and leave you totally stunned and speechless. You

were so cute when you were confused! Although out of all of the times I did it, FTI definitely was the best; tell me, how was it that I

confessed my undying love to you, kissed you, and then you still question "did you just say you love me?"? I mean really Arnold!"

"Hey, give me a break, Helga! I was nine and really didn't know what was going on! I mean, if I had walked up to you one day

after school in fourth grade and said "Helga I love you! I've always loved you!", what would you have done?"

"Well, I either would have stared at you in disbelief before kissing you, or I would have yelled at you and then run home, which

would then have resulted in me alternating between celebrating that you loved me and crying that I had screwed things up with you again."

"So you see? I was perfectly in my right to be confused. Although, I think things have worked out pretty well."

"Arnold, as long as we're together things are absolutely,completely perfect."

§

Over the next week everything fell into place; Helga called her parents and got back on good terms with them, although she politely told them that she was staying at the boarding house, and Arnold got the tickets to the play that he and Helga were going to see, although he still wouldn't tell her what it was.

The one thing that didn't work out for Helga was Rhonda. Rhonda had been out of school all week, and Helga suspected it was because

she had heard that Helga was looking for her. Helga's luck changed on Friday, however. When she walked into school she almost immediately

caught sight of the familiar red dress.

"_Hey Princess_!" Helga yelled over the noise in the hallway, "We need to talk!"

Rhonda looked over her shoulder before taking off at as fast a walk as she could, which wasn't very fast at all due to her new six-inch high heel boots.

Helga, however, was wearing sneakers, which was perfect for chasing down Rhonda.

"Gotcha!" Helga said, grabbing Rhonda's arm and pulling her to the side of the hallway.

"Helga, I'm afraid I simply don't have time to chat right now. I'm on my way to a very important meeting with—"

"Oh save it. I know what you did the night of Homecoming. How could you?"

"Well I'm sure I don't know what you mean. I spent my night dancing and—"

"Don't give me that crap! You sent a teacher after Arnold and I. I know you did! How could you? Do you know how much you messed up

my life that night?!"

"Oh Helga, you're so dramatic. Just because I ruined your little closet plan hardly means I ruined your life."

"Oh really? And what about when the school called my parents? What do you think happened then?"

Rhonda didn't answer.

"I'd tell you what happened, but it's not any of your business, so I'll just tell you that two days ago was the first time

I've spoken to my parents since Homecoming. I'll also tell you that you're very, very lucky that Arnold hates violence, or I'd be doing

much more than yelling at you right now. But I don't want to upset Arnold, so I'll let you live. But know this: if you _ever_ do something

like that again, I won't be this kind."

And with that, Helga turned on her heel and walked to class.


	18. Chapter 18

**Hello everyone! Wow, my week has been busy! But I still have another chapter for you! I think this chapter will make most of you smile (I hope); there's some really cute ArnoldxHelga stuff, and you RhondaxCurly shippers will enjoy a little tidbit I put in as well. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: :)**

Chapter 18

"Hey there, beautiful," Arnold said, seemingly appearing out of nowhere at Helga's locker. She closed her locker, thankful that another day of school was over, and turned to Arnold.

"Hey there, handsome. How's your day been?"

"Better now that I get to spend time with you." Helga smiled and slid her hand into his, and together they began the walk home.

"So I ran into Rhonda this morning," Helga said.

"Oh really? Did she apologize for Homecoming?" Arnold asked.

"Arnold, if you're waiting for that girl to apologize, don't hold your breath. The girl's a cold, soulless harpie."

"Well she can't be too bad."

"And what makes you say that, Hair Boy? And don't say it's because there's good in everyone, even though I'll forever be grateful you believed that about me."

"Well, I have Geometry with Curly, and he couldn't stop bouncing all throughout class, so afterwards I asked why he was so

excited, and you'll never guess what he said."

"What?"

"He asked Rhonda to go with him to the Halloween dance next week, and she said yes."

"_No way_! Oh I am _so_ holding this over her!" Helga laughed.

"Helga! I didn't tell you so you could used it to torment Rhonda! I just thought it was kind of interesting that they've spent so long with Rhonda saying she hates him, and now they're going to the dance together."

"Speaking of the Halloween dance, are we going?"

"Do you want to go?"

They had arrived at the boarding house by now, and as they entered the kitchen for an after school snack, Helga dropped into a chair and looked thoughtful.

"Well on the one hand it could be fun, but on the other hand what would we dress up as?"

"Well," Arnold said, sitting across from her and opening a box of crackers, "I was thinking, if we did go, we could maybe dress up as a prince and princess?"

"Arnold, that's a great idea!" Helga smiled. She reached into the box for a cracker, but she stopped with it halfway to her mouth.

"Arnold...these are gram crackers. You didn't by any chance pick these for a specific reason, did you?"

"You mean other than it's technically the first meal we ever shared? Nope, no reason."

"Arnold! You are too cute! Wow, I just realized how much I say that now; you're turning me into a big mush ball, Football Head!"

"Aw, but Helga, I love it when you let yourself get "mushy". It's a part of you I only really get to see through your poetry, so it's extra special when you do it for real."

"Oh, okay, I guess "mushy Helga" can stay."

Arnold chuckled as he removed the last gram cracker from the wrapper and broke it in half.

"Here, want mine?" he asked, grinning slightly.

Just as she had in preschool, Helga nodded and accepted the cracker, but she burst out laughing before she could eat it.

"What's so funny, Helga?" Arnold asked.

"Nothing, just that when you did that the first time, it was the most romantic thing I could ever have imagined. Now we're going to

dances together and going on dates; three-year-old me would have died if she knew this would be her future!"

Arnold chuckled and picked up Helga's hand that lay on the table to kiss it.

"You know, I don't remember much from when we were three, but I do remember that first day with the umbrella and the crackers. When I saw you in the rain I wondered why you were alone, and why such a pretty girl looked so sad."

"You really thought I was pretty?" Helga asked.

"Yeah. I thought you were the prettiest girl ever, and I couldn't stand you looking sad. And that's when I noticed your bow; it looked so perfect on you, almost like it was meant to be there."

"Maybe it was. After all, if you hadn't told me you liked it, we wouldn't be here together."

"True. And then later, when Harold took your crackers, I realized you were upset again. I wanted to see you smile again, so that's why I gave you my crackers. I figured, if I could make you smile again, then everything would be okay."

"And I repaid you by tormenting you for years."

"Helga, please don't tell me you still feel bad about that!"

"Well, for the most part no, but sometimes it just hits me how awful I was to you when all you did was help me. I can't stand it, Arnold! And then on top of it all you actually love me! I just don't understand how you can just forgive all of that."

"Helga, I told you before. I know you were just trying to protect your secret. Sure, at the time I didn't know, but I knew you were a good person, and that was good enough for me." Arnold got up and walked over to sit in the chair next to Helga. "I love you, Helga. Please don't keep worrying about it."

"Arnold, it's kind of hard to forget."

"Would you like some help?" Arnold whispered, tracing a finger down her cheek.

"Um...A-Arnold...I..." Helga stuttered.

Arnold kissed her nose and sat back.

"It's okay, Helga. I'm just teasing," he said with a wink.


	19. Chapter 19

**Okay you guys, this is the chapter I got you all excited about: their anniversary! I hope you like it, because it was super fun to write! This is actually part one of their anniversary, so I'll probably have part two up soon. Enjoy!**

**P.S.**

**I hope I spelled Hyunh and Kokoschka right; I wasn't really sure.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hey Arnold.**

Chapter 19

The next day Helga woke up and immediately ran to her closet. Arnold didn't know it, but Helga had bought a new dress specifically for their anniversary. For the hundredth time, Helga ran a finger down the shimmering fabric._ 'Arnold's going to love this. He's never seen me in anything but pink!'_

Indeed, the dress wasn't pink, but instead a very pale blue. It had a short skirt and thin spaghetti straps, and was accented at the waist with a few decorative ribbons trailing down.

Helga giggled with excitement once more before heading down stairs.

"Morning, Football Head. Sleep well?"

"Good morning, Helga. I slept pretty well, how about you?"

"Wonderful! Hey, where is everyone?" the normally noisy house was oddly quiet.

"Well, Grandma, Grandpa, Mom, and Dad decided to spend the day just the four of them at the aquarium, and Mr. Potts has a full day of work today. Mr. Hyunh is visiting his daughter, and Mrs. Kokoschka is spending the whole day making Mr. Kokoschka find a job. In short, everyone's out for the day, and we have the house to ourselves."

"Wow, that _never_ happens!" Helga chuckled, "So, what are we going to do with this free day? I know the play doesn't start until later, right?"

"Right. So, in the meantime, we can do whatever we want." Arnold winked at Helga, who blushed lightly.

"Well, if...if we really do have the house to ourselves...oh heck with it! I'm just going to say it! Arnold, will you—" Arnold was already standing and took her hand.

"Wherever you go, I will always follow you. Lead the way, Helga," he said. Helga needed no further prompting; she led him up the stairs as fast as she could. Once they were on the second floor she stopped momentarily, looking between her door and his.

"May I make the suggestion that my room has music?" Arnold said.

"Good call, Hair Boy," Helga smiled. She hurried up the stairs to his room, and once they were both inside she locked the door, just as a precaution.

§

Arnold and Helga lay on Arnold's bed curled up together, listening to soft jazz music float through the room.

"Arnold?" Helga whispered.

"Yes, princess?"

"Can I be greedy and ask for just one more kiss? Please?"

"Helga, you can be as greedy as you want. I'm glad I can do something so simple and special to make you happy." He unlaced his fingers from hers to tilt her chin up just enough for him to kiss her again before returning his hand to hers.

"How was that?" he asked.

"Absolutely amazing. You always manage to leave me breathless."

"And you me."

After a few more minutes (and kisses), they decided they should get ready for their picnic before the play. Helga skipped to her room and threw open the closet.

_'It really is a beautiful dress'_ she thought as she lifted it from the hanger. It slid on easily, hugging her sides just a bit. She pulled on her heels and pulled the hair ties from her pigtails, shaking her hair loose. Finally she clipped on a necklace that Olga had gives her years ago and readjusted her pink bow. It looked a little out of place with the blue dress, but Helga didn't feel it would be right to celebrate their one month anniversary without it.

Helga hurried out into the hallway and up the stairs to Arnold's room.

"Knock knock, anybody there?" she giggled, knocking on Arnold's door.

"No one but a do-gooder little shrimp," Arnold chuckled from the other side.

"Does he have a football-shaped head?" Helga asked.

"Yes, he certainly does," Arnold said, "But he knows a certain beautiful girl with long blond hair loves it, so he doesn't mind."

Helga opened the door to find Arnold standing there in a suit, looking very handsome.

"Well that's a very good thing," Helga said. She walked over to Arnold and wrapped her arms around his neck before whispering in his ear "Because the blond haired girl _does_ think your football head is really adorable. And the rest of you is pretty hot too." Helga leaned back to see the look on Arnold's face. He was blushing quite brightly, but he was also smiling.

"Helga, do you enjoy making me lose all ability to speak?" Arnold asked.

"Yes," she giggled, "Because more often than not it results in you blushing, which is really very cute. I can't help it, Arnold! You're just so cute!"

"Well you're just as cute, especially in that lovely blue dress. And as much as I'd like to just stay here all night, if we don't eat dinner soon then we'll be late for the play."

"You're right. Alright, lead the way, Arnold!"

Arnold opened the door to the roof and helped Helga up the ladder. What she saw before her was amazing.

The entire rooftop was lit with candles. Little white candles set on little white plates rested on every corner of the roof, and two tall white candles sat in a beautiful silver holder in the center of a table set for two.

"Arnold..." Helga breathed.

"Happy Anniversary, Helga." Arnold smiled. Together they walked to the table, where Arnold pulled out her chair for her and placed a covered plate before her.

"Very fancy, Hair Boy."

"Only the best for you, my angel," Arnold smiled. He took his place across from Helga and placed his own plate in front of him. Together they uncovered the plates to reveal homemade spaghetti and meatballs.

"Arnold, this looks delicious!" Helga said.

"Thanks, Helga."

They ate in silence for a little while, just enjoying each other's presence. After they finished dinner, Arnold revealed a third plate.

"You made more food, Arnold? When did you find time to make all of this?"

"I have my ways, Helga. Go ahead, see what it is."

Helga lifted the cover slowly to find two ceramic bowls.

"Arnold, is this what I think it is?" Helga asked.

"Well, what do you think it is?" Arnold said.

"Well it looks like crème brûlée. Did you really make crème brûlée, Arnold?"

"Well, I tried. I don't know how good it turned out, but hopefully it's alright."

"Arnold, the fact that you even tried is amazing! Thank you so much!" Helga broke the thin crust of sugar on top and stuck the first bite in her mouth. _'Oh my gosh! If heaven could be turned into a flavor (besides Arnold's kisses), this is what it would be!'_ Helga thought.

"Arnold, this is the single most delicious thing I have ever eaten!"

"Thank you, Helga. I'm glad it came out okay."

"Okay? Arnold, this is like eating magic!"

"Well, like I said, only the best for my Helga."

Helga choked on the bite in her mouth a little. She coughed a few times and tried to breath again.

"Helga! Are you okay?!"

"You...*cough*...you called me...*cough*..."your Helga". Arnold...you've never called me yours before. I...I've always wanted you to call me than and...you actually did!"

Arnold smiled and got up from his seat to walk over to Helga. He knelt down so they were the same height and took her hands.

"Helga. My Helga. My beautiful Helga. Of course you're my Helga. My princess. My angel. My shining star in the middle of the night, always ready to hear my wishes and dreams. The light of my life, brightening every day. My everything."

"Oh Arnold!" Helga jumped up and kissed him with everything she had.

"I love you," Arnold whispered, parting his lips from hers.

"I love you too, Arnold, with every fiber of my being. That was beautiful. Your poetry has gotten better since we were kids."

"A poet is only as good as their muse, and you are a lovely muse."

"I'm your muse?"

"Now, and forever."

They stood there for a few minutes just holding each other before Arnold led her to a small bench set against the side of the roof.

"I'm sorry this isn't more romantic, Helga. If I had my way this would be a swinging loveseat, but I didn't have time to get one."

"That's okay, Arnold. You've done more than enough tonight!"

"I'm not done yet. You still need to open your gift. Well, gifts; I couldn't decide between two gifts, so I got you both."

"Aw, Football Head! You spoil me!"

"Only because you deserve it. Go on, open them."

On her lap sat two presents, one larger and a bit flat, the other smaller and a bit thicker.

Helga reached for the larger one first. Carefully she unwrapped it to find a scrapbook with a homemade cover. The cover itself was a soft pink, almost white, and there was and empty slot for a picture in the center of it. Framing the space on the top and bottom were the words "Helga's Memories" in gold script.

"Arnold, it's beautiful. Thank you!"

"I thought you should have a nicer place to keep your memories than that envelope you have. If you don't want to use it it's fine, I just thought, if you wanted..."

"It's beautiful, Arnold. I can't wait to fill it with all the special things I have. It's perfect!" she kissed his cheek. Before reaching for the smaller present.

Inside was a small dark blue velvet box. Helga opened the lid to reveal a small, gold, heart-shaped pendant. Engraved on one side in small, delicate script was "_To my Angel, You fill my life with light. Never stop shining. Love, Arnold_".

Helga opened her mouth to speak, but no sound came out; there were no words that could express how she felt.

"Helga?" Arnold asked, "Is everything okay?"

Still at a loss for words, Helga just kissed Arnold, pouring all of the feelings swirling through her into it.

"I love it, Arnold. I love it more than anything. I swear I'll never take it off ever. Will you help me put it on?"

"Of course, Helga." Arnold gently unfastened the necklace she was wearing and replaced it with the new one, trailing his fingers over the exposed skin of her neck and shoulders to make her shiver.

"You know Helga, I don't think I told you this before, but you look really beautiful in that dress. Blue suits you just as much as pink does."

"You did comment on it earlier, but that doesn't mean you can't do it again. Thank you, Arnold. I was a little worried that my bow would look strange with all of the blue, but it wouldn't be right to celebrate our anniversary without the bow that brought us together, would it?"

"No, it wouldn't."

"Okay, now you have to open your present, Arnold!" Helga said, producing a blue wrapped package. It was a small pink book, very similar to the ones Helga kept all of her poetry in.

"It's the first volume of Arnold poetry that I ever wrote. You said you liked my poetry, so I thought you might like to see how it started. My handwriting was pretty crappy when I was little, so if you can't read any of it I can tell you what they say," Helga said.

"I love it, Helga. It's perfect. Just like you."

Helga blushed and kissed Arnold again, only stopping when Arnold reminded her that they were going to be late to the play if they didn't leave soon.

The last of dessert was forgotten as Arnold and Helga headed down to the Packard and off to the play.


	20. Chapter 20

**It's here! The second half of the date! And I think it's pretty darn cute! Just you wait until the end, too; there's a cute little surprise (and ****please**** do ****_not_**** skip ahead! Really, it'll be better if you just read it!). Happy reading!**

**Disclaimer: Same as always, the amazing Craig Bartlett owns Hey Arnold.**

Chapter 20

"Here we are!" Arnold said, parking the car outside the theater.

"Arnold, are you going to tell me what the play is yet?" Helga asked, "I think I've waited long enough!"

"Nope, sorry Helga. I want to keep it a surprise for as long as possible."

"But Arnold!" she whined.

"I promise, it'll be worth it," he said, kissing her forehead while holding the door open for her.

They walked through the large wooden doors that led from the mezzanine to the theater house and found seats near the front. Arnold had picked up two programs from a table by the door, but he still hid them from Helga.

"Come on, Arnold! Seriously, tell me what the play is! Please? You can't hide it forever!" Helga said.

"Oh, okay, I'll tell you," he chuckled. He handed her a program and whispered "Romeo & Juliet. Brings back memories, huh?"

"No kidding. That was our first kiss!" Helga said.

"Yeah, and you tricked four other girls out of the part just to get it!" Arnold laughed.

"Well I couldn't just let you go and kiss Rhonda or Sheena or Phoebe or Lila! I mean, really! Especially that last one!" although Arnold had had a crush on Lila in their elementary school years, it had slowly faded in middle school, and now in high school it seemed it was for the best. Lila seemed to have a different boyfriend all the time, and had gotten herself _quite_ the reputation.

"Yeah. Thank you for that, Helga. I'm glad I was able to share my first kiss with you."

"I'm glad I could share mine with you, too. But I doubt that's what you were saying at the time! What did you think of the prospect of kissing me, Hair Boy?"

"Well, I'll admit at first I was surprised that you didn't drop out as soon as you found out you were going to be Juliet, and then I was really scared, but when the time came and you kissed me...I really liked it. I mean, I was surprised and confused when you kissed me for so long, but yeah, the kiss itself was...nice."

"Really? I was afraid I was going to freak you out, blow my secret, and that football head of yours would explode! But at the same time all I could think was_ 'Oh my gosh, I'm actually going to get to kiss Arnold! If I'm dreaming, no one pinch me!'_".

"Did you dream about that a lot? Kissing me, I mean?"

"Truthfully? Yes. Almost every dream I had involved you, mostly either us on a date or you confessing that you'd loved me ever since you met me."

"You should tell me about your dreams sometime; I could make them come true."

Helga was about to respond, but the lights went out, and the play began. Arnold held Helga's hand through the whole thing, and when the big kiss at the end came he gave her hand a gently squeeze.

§

"Arnold, that was wonderful!" Helga said when they got in the car.

"I'm glad you had fun, Helga." Arnold said.

They arrived back at the boarding house shortly. Gertie, Phil, Miles, and Stella were all sitting in the living room reading or watching the television, but everyone looked up when Arnold and Helga passed the doorway.

"Hello kids," Stella said, "Did you have a good time tonight?"

"Yeah, we had a great time, didn't we, Helga?" Arnold smiled, putting an arm around Helga's waist.

"Absolutely wonderful. But how could I not have a good time when I'm with ol' Football Head?" Helga said, leaning her head against Arnold.

"We're glad you two had fun," Phil said.

"But it is getting pretty late; you two should go to bed soon," Miles added.

"Don't worry, Dad, we'll go to bed soon. Promise," Arnold assured Miles.

"Alright. Good night you two," Miles said.

Helga and Arnold wished everyone goodnight before climbing the stairs to the second floor.

"Arnold," Helga said when they stopped in front of her bedroom door, "Thank you again for tonight. It was the best night of my life! I wish we could just stay in this moment forever."

"Don't worry," Arnold said, brushing a bit of hair from Helga's face and tucking it behind her ear, "We'll have many more anniversaries together that will be just as good and better. Although, I did have one last idea to finish off our night. That is, if you want to."

"And what would that be?" Helga asked.

Arnold leaned in close to her ear and whispered "Would you like to join me tonight in my room?"

Helga's eyes widened and she looked at Arnold in surprise.

"You mean it, Arnold? You really mean it?"

"Yes Helga. I want to share my dreams with you, and feel you next to me all night. But only if you want to. If you don't, or if you're not comfortable with—" he was cut off by Helga's kiss.

"Arnold, how could you even begin to imagine that I _wouldn't_ want to? Let me go put on my pajamas and I'll be up in two seconds, okay?"

"Take all the time you need, Helga. I could wait forever."

Helga giggled and hurried into her room to find some pajamas. Lately she had been sleeping in sweatpants and a tank top, but she wanted something a little better looking. She searched through her closet and dresser, but she couldn't find anything._ 'Sure, the one time I actually need one of those frilly pajama sets like Olga loves and I can't find anything. Just my luck!'_ Helga thought. She opened one last drawer in her dresser and found a pink tank top that said "Kiss Me" on the front. She pulled out a pair of plaid pants in the same shade of pink and tried them on._ 'Well, if you don't have any pajama sets, make your own! I don't think this is too bad.'_

Helga brushed out her hair and retied her bow before sneaking out of her room and up to Arnold's door. She knocked quietly, almost inaudibly on the door. Arnold opened it and she slipped inside.

"Helga, do you know how adorable you look in those pj's?" Arnold chuckled. Helga sat cross-legged on the bed looking up at Arnold with excitement-filled eyes.

"Wait one second just like that, okay? I want to take your picture."

"Arnold, come on, I don't look that good."

"Yes you do! Just hold on while I— oh here's my camera! Okay, ready? Say cheese!" Arnold lined up the shot and Helga smiled shyly.

Arnold brought the camera over to the bed and sat down next to her. He pressed the review button and the picture appeared on the screen.

"Perfect," Arnold said, kissing Helga's cheek.

"Does this mean I get to take a picture of you?" Helga joked, "Because let me tell you, over the years trying to secretly get pictures was really hard!"

"You really want to take my picture?" Arnold asked. Helga rolled her eyes and nodded, unable to conceal her smile.

"Yes, Arnold, believe it or not your girlfriend wants a picture of you that she didn't have to sneak around to get. Is it really that surprising that I want a picture of you?"

"No, not really. Well, take as many as you like. How do you want me posed?" Arnold asked, handing the camera to Helga.

"Hmm...I don't know, however you want. Anything will be adorable."

Arnold stretched out and rolled over so he was laying on his side on the bed, almost like he was waiting for Helga to come join him.

"How's this?" He asked.

"Perfect," Helga smiled. She took the picture, then ran over to Arnold and cuddled up next to him before hitting review. The picture came up and Helga smiled wider.

"Okay, that is definitely going in the locket!"

Arnold laughed and reached for the camera.

"Now one of both of us," he said. He put his arm around Helga's shoulders and pulled her close and clicked the button.

"How did it turn out?" Helga asked.

"Perfect," Arnold said, showing her the picture.

Arnold set the camera on a shelf above him and picked up the remote that was wired to his room.

"So, we should probably go to bed now, huh?" he asked.

"Only as long as by _"go to bed"_ you mean _"turn off the lights and snuggle"_"

"Of course." Arnold clicked a button and the room went dark. Arnold lifted up the edge of the blankets for Helga to crawl under them, then pulled them over himself and pulled Helga close.

"I'm glad that now we have a happier reason for doing this," Arnold said, "Last time you were so sad, and so hurt...Helga, do you know what it's like to feel powerless to make the person you love feel better?"

"I do. Any time I ever saw you sad, all I could think was 'How can I help? What can I do to make him feel better?' But I could never figure out how to help; everything seemed like it was stupid or trivial. All I could do was stand there and hope that you feel better soon, because it hurt me to see you so unhappy."

"It's terrible," Arnold agreed, "That's why I'm glad we get to be together like this under much happier circumstances; when you're happy you almost seem to radiate light."

"that's because you make me so happy."

"I love you, Helga."

"I love you, Arnold."

Arnold kissed her goodnight, and they slept the rest of the night holding each other.

**So, what's going to happen next? Wait and see! Haha, did you enjoy My cute little surprise? I loved when they got to share Arnold's bed before, so I wanted to give them another chance to do it without all the drama of Helga's family.**


	21. Chapter 21

**Okay everyone, this is probably my favorite chapter out of this whole story! For those of you looking for some ****_super_**** cute Arnold/Helga stuff, here it is! I hope you enjoy what happens the next morning, because it was really fun to write it ;)**

**Disclaimer: Hey Arnold was thought up be Craig Bartlett, not me.**

Chapter 21

The next morning Helga awoke to Arnold's smiling face.

"Good morning, angel. Did you sleep well?" Arnold asked, placing a kiss on her forehead.

"Good morning to you too, my love. I slept wonderfully, how about you?" Helga asked, returning the kiss.

"Great. I had a wonderful dream about us, and then when I woke up you were in my arms. What could be better?"

"If you would kiss me again?" Helga suggested. Arnold chuckled and kissed her lips lightly.

"So what was your dream about?" Helga asked.

"Well, it was you and me, and we were in a garden. It was getting dark, but we were dancing in a gazebo lit with thousands of tiny lights. You were wearing this long cream covered dress that looked beautiful on you. And you want to know one of my favorite parts of your dress? The sleeves of it were...a bit like this..." Arnold said quietly, using one finger to slide her tank top strap off her shoulder.

"Arnold!" Helga blushed brightly and lifted the strap back up.

"I'm sorry, Helga. But it's true. Besides, you look very pretty with your shoulders a little less hidden. They're so soft," Arnold whispered the last part before kissing her neck near her shoulders.

"Arnold, _please_ do that again!" Helga said. Arnold did as she asked and felt a shiver run through her.

"Oh wow, Arnold your far, far too good at that!" Helga said.

"Does that mean you don't want my to do it again?" Arnold asked.

"No!" Helga said quickly. Then, before Arnold could even process what she was doing, and before Helga lost her nerve, she slipped both straps off of her shoulders and snuggled as close as possible to Arnold.

Arnold was about to say something when the door to his room suddenly opened and Phil poked his head in.

"Hey Shortman, are you awak—whoops, looks like I'm interrupting! Hehe, sorry you two!" He closed the door and went back down stairs.

As soon as the door had opened Helga had hidden under the blankets, and she now sat with her arms wrapped around her knees and her forehead reading on top.

Arnold lifted the edge of the blanket and put a hand on Helga's arm.

"Helga? Are you okay?" he asked. She shook her head.

"Well will you come out?" he asked. She shook her head again.

"Will you at least talk to me?"she didn't move.

"Well if you won't come out then I'm coming in" Arnold said, crawling under the blankets to sit beside her. He rested an arm around her shoulders and leaned his head against her.

"Helga, it's really not that bad."

"Not that bad? _Not that bad?_ Arnold, that was_ humiliating_!" she exclaimed.

"Okay, so it was kind of embarrassing; at least it was just Grandpa, and he won't tell anyone. Remember," Arnold broke into an imitation of Phil, "He's a wily old coot!"

"Arnold!" Helga giggled. She snuggled closer to Arnold and sighed.

"I guess you're right," she said, "It could have been a lot worse."

"Mhm. So, where were we before my Grandpa interrupted?" Arnold asked.

Helga eyed him sneakily before pushing him onto his back with her on top of him.

"I think about here," she said.

"Really? Because I thought we were about here..." Arnold flicked Helga's shirt strap off of her shoulder lightly.

"You really have become a bold little Football Head since we were kids, huh?"

"I learned from the best."

"Kiss-up."

"Just as long as it's you I get to kiss."

"Flirt."

"You know you love it."

"I do."

Helga slid off of Arnold to lay beside him and gently played with his hair.

"You know, I've always loved your hair. Ever since we were little. It's so soft..."

Arnold twirled a section of Helga's hair around his finger.

"Well your hair is just as soft, and it's so long. You look so beautiful with it down, almost like you're covered in sunshine..."

"Tell me Football Head, are you always this poetic, or am I just lucky?"

"You're the real poet, why don't you tell me?"

"Or we could go get breakfast and then go Halloween Costume shopping."

"That's a good idea; we only have a week before the dance."

Arnold lifted the blankets and they both climbed out and headed downstairs for breakfast, which, courtesy of Gertie, was jungle themed.

§

At the costume shop Arnold and Helga found tons of different costume pieces. Everything from witches to three-headed aliens.

"Well, this is going to take a while," Helga said, looking around the store for anything that looked remotely like what they were looking for.

"It won't be too bad," Arnold said, "Think of it like a treasure hunt."

"Always looking on the bright side, aren't you, Arnold?" Helga chuckled.

"Someone has to."

And so they began looking. Once they found the adult section they began searching through the many racks for prince and princess costumes.

"Hey Arnold," a very quiet said behind him. Arnold turned around and dropped the crown he was holding with a clatter.

"Holy—Helga! Why did you do that?!"

"Because it was very funny to watch you freak out!" Helga laughed, pulling off the monster mask she had found.

"Helga, we're supposed to be looking for costumes, not scaring me half to death."

"I found costumes. For both of us, actually. Come on, I think you'll like them!" Helga grabbed Arnold's hand and pulled him over to a nearby rack. She reached around to the back of the rack, back where most people wouldn't look, and pulled out two beautiful costumes; Arnold's was a dark blue jacket with gold accents and white pants, and it even came with a plastic sword and sheath. Helga's was a long, floor length dress in a pale lavender color with gold accents and a gold tiara.

"Wow, these are great!" Arnold exclaimed, taking his costume and checking the size.

"I knew you'd like them. So, what do you say?"

"I say I think we have a good shot at winning the costume contest!"

"Dang right we—wait, the what?"

"The costume contest. At the Halloween dance they have a costume contest," Arnold explained.

"How did I not know this? This is going to be awesome!" Helga said, all the while thinking how sweet it would be to beat Rhonda for best costume. Needless to say, Helga was still pretty mad at Rhonda.

They paid for their costumes and when home, both unable to wait for Halloween to come.


	22. Chapter 22

**Hello everyone! Another chapter is here! Ready to see how Halloween turns out?**

**Disclaimer: Not mine, but you knew that ;)**

Chapter 22

Halloween. The day was finally here. Helga woke up in a great mood and went down to breakfast, only to be met with the strangest thing she had ever seen: Gertie was dressed as a witch standing by the stove stirring a caldron. Miles, who was dressed as a pirate, was hanging fake cobwebs everywhere, Stella, a black cat, was setting up a skeleton on the front steps, and Phil, a goblin, was filling an enormous bowl with candy.

And in the middle of it all was Arnold, dressed in his normal outfit, sorting through a large box of decorations.

"How many spiders did you want, Dad?" Arnold asked, pulling a few more from the box.

"How many do we have?" Miles asked back.

"About fifteen, give or take."

"I'll take all of them."

Arnold handed a few spiders up to his father and noticed Helga standing in the doorway looking confused.

"'Morning, Helga! Grandma's got breakfast ready if you want some. I already ate so I could help with this stuff."

"Arnold...I'm not sure what question to ask first. Maybe what did your grandma make for breakfast, and is it whatever's in that caldron? Or maybe just the all-inclusive what is going on?"

"Grandma made oatmeal, yes it's in the caldron, and no, it's not mixed with some weird "potion". As for what's going on, it's Halloween! And, well, let's just say it's Grandma's favorite holiday, so she goes a little overboard," Arnold chuckled.

"Well count me in! This looks like fun! Let my just grab some "witch's brew", okay?"

Over the next hour everyone hung decorations and got the house ready, even changing the outside lightbulb to a green one so it would cast an eery light.

"Helga, could you go get some of those rubber rats from the kitchen table? Grandma wants to put a few by the skeleton," Arnold asked, putting the last of the spiders on the wall.

"Um, y-yeah, sure," Helga said._ 'Criminy, I __hate__ rats. Okay, chill out, Helga, they're rubber. They're not real. You can pick up a few fake...rats, and put them outside. Yeah, no big deal.'_

Helga stared at the fake rats sitting on the table. Their red eyes almost looked like they were daring her to pick one up. Helga inched closer to the table and picked on up by the very end of its tail. Suddenly it slipped from her grasp and landed on her bare foot.

Helga let out a shreek and jumped away from the rat that now lay upside down on the floor.

"Helga, what's wrong?" Arnold asked, running into the kitchen.

"Wrong? Oh, um, uh, well..." Helga looked at the rat on the floor and then at Arnold._ 'If we're going to be together I have to be honest'_ Helga reminded herself. _'Besides, I don't have to pretend around Arnold.'_

"Okay, Arnold, here's the thing: I'm petrified to death of rats. Mice too, but mostly rats. Yes I know I live in a city, and that's pretty much the worst place for a rat-phobic person to live. Believe me, I know. But I just can't get over it."

"I'm sorry, Helga. I had no idea you were afraid of rats or I wouldn't have asked you to get them. Don't worry, I'll do it. Do you think you could help Grandma with the cookies?"

"Very easily, as long as she doesn't want my to actually bake anything. Frosting I can do, but baking? Bad idea."

"Don't worry, Helga, there's plenty of cookies in need of frosting."

§

A few hours later the house was decorated, the cookies were made, and it was time for the dance. Helga spun around in her costume for the third time since she put it on before clipping the tiara in her hair.

_'Perfect'_ she thought. She met Arnold downstairs and, after posing for pictures, they left for the dance.

"Okay," Arnold said as they approached the double doors of the school, "Rule number one: no sneaking out of the dance tonight."

"I completely agree, Arnold," Helga said.

The dance was in the gym again, that being the only room big enough, but it looked completely different. There were purple and black streamers everywhere, black balloons, and bats and spiders stuck on the walls, with everything glowing under a combination of black lights, strobe lights, and a disco ball.

Holy cow, Arnold! Look at this place! They did an awesome job!"

"They did. I like the black lights."

Suddenly "Monster Mash" started playing over the speakers. A few people groaned and complained that this was happened when you let the history teacher DJ, but Arnold and Helga just laughed and ran to the center of the floor, dancing like zombies.

§

"Alright, everyone, it's time for the costume contest!" the art teacher said enthusiastically into the microphone. A few students cheered.

"You've been voting all night, and now I'm about to announce the results!" he continued. They went through all of the smaller categories, most artistic going to Eugene and Sheena, funniest going to Sid, and so on until there was only the overall left.

"Third place overall goes to Lila Sawyer!" everyone applauded and hugged Lila as she walked up to the front of the room dressed as a fairy.

"I'm oh so grateful to have won! Thank you ever so much!" she chirped.

"Second place, Rhonda Wellington-Lloyd!"

"What?!" Rhonda said before quickly composing herself. She straightened her angel costume and walked to stand next to Lila.

"And first place goes to a couple, Helga Pataki and Arnold...gosh darn it, I can't read my own handwriting..." Not that it mattered; Arnold and Helga happily walked to stand beside Rhonda, who had venom in her eyes and was aiming it at Helga.

"Better luck next time, princess," Helga chuckled, accepting her plastic crown for winning. Rhonda huffed and marched away, only to be immediately joined by Curly, who was dressed as...well, no one was really sure what Curly was dressed as.

Everyone went back to dancing, but a few songs later Helga was more interested in what was taking place near the speakers.

"Helga?" Arnold asked, "What are you looking at?"

"That," Helga said gesturing in the direction she was looking. Rhonda and Curly were slow dancing in the shadows where the disco ball didn't reach, and they were both smiling.

"It finally happened, huh Football Head?" Helga laughed.

"Yeah, I guess so. That's nice that things worked out well for them. Maybe now Rhonda will be nicer to him."

"I wouldn't count on it. I'm betting they keep it a secret for a month at the very least."

"What makes you say that?"

"Rhonda's got a reputation for hating Curly, so she's going to take at least a month to make it look like they're slowly getting on good terms, meanwhile she and Curly will secretly spend every waking moment hiding in some huge room in Rhonda's nearly always empty mansion."

"You really think that's what will happen?"

"Yes, yes I do."

"Well, then I guess time will tell."

"That it will, Hair Boy. Now let's get back to dancing! I came here to dance with you, not watch Rhonda and Curly!"

"Whatever you say, Helga."

"Very good, Arnold. Whatever I say!"


	23. Chapter 23

**Hey everyone! Sorry for the long delay and short chapter, but the holiday season is coming fast! This is the last chapter for this story, and I want to thank everyone for taking the time to read this! I'm glad it was enjoyed! I'm also going to be posting the first chapter of a new story after this, so if you're interested maybe go have a little look-see? Only if you want :) Thanks again for reading and reviewing!**

**Disclaimer: Hey Arnold belongs to the amazing Craig Bartlett.**

Chapter 23

At 10:00 the dance ended, and Arnold and Helga climbed into the Packard.

"Helga, would it be okay if we maybe don't go right home? There's something I want to show you."

"Arnold, I would love nothing more than to stay out later with you. Where are we going?"

"It's a surprise."

"Arnold, why do you like to surprise me so much? I want to know!"

"But I love seeing the look on your face when you finally find out. It's so cute!"

"Oh, alright Hair Boy, surprise away!"

They drove a short distance until they reached the park. Arnold led Helga over to the bridge, but instead of walking over it he began to walk down the small slope towards the river.

"Arnold, you'd better not get us soaked. It's freezing out and I'd really rather not get sick."

"Don't worry, Helga, we won't get wet."

Down at the very edge of the river, hidden from above, was a small metal bench tucked under the bridge. There was a folded blanket set on the seat as a cushion.

"Arnold, what's this?" Helga asked.

"I found this bench last time I was here, so earlier I snuck out of the house and got this ready. I thought it would be a nice way to end the night." Arnold explained.

They sat on the bench and looked up at the stars.

"See that one right there? The really bright one?" Arnold asked.

"Yeah, I see it. Why?"

"It's named Angel."

"What? Arnold, what are you talking about?"

"This." Arnold pulled a folder from under the blanket and removed the paper from inside. It read:

_This certificate states that __Arnold P. Shortman and Helga G. Pataki_

_are the official owners of the star __"Angel"__._

The coordinates were listed below, along with other information.

"Arnold...you bought us a star?" Helga asked in wonder.

"Yeah. Sorry I didn't ask you about the name, but I wanted to surprised you."

"That's fine. But why Angel?"

"Well, two reasons. One, Angel is the first thing I ever heard you call me in a monologue when we were nine, and second you're my angel, and my star."

"Oh Arnold!" Helga hugged him tightly and together they sat there, watching the stars.

End.


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